Total Shock
by Author Roy
Summary: With the appearance of a UFO, Earth is on the verge of a paradigm shift. Ranma and co. are at the heart of this change. Xover with Sailor Moon, Tenchi Muyo, and others.
1. Horizon

Disclaimer: None of the series, characters, or locations mentioned in this story are owned by the author of this story unless stated otherwise.

--

Somewhere in Nerima, Ranma Saotome sat on the roof of the Tendo residence. It wasn't often that he was up there; as a matter of fact, this was probably the first time he could remember sitting up there and just staring at the sky.

It had been another day in Nerima. Wake up sopping wet and cold, beat up Kuno, be late to class, ambushed at lunch, arguing with Akane…If he was lucky, everyone left him alone after that. If he was unlucky, either Akane cooked dinner, or his mom showed up with her honor blade to ask about his and his father's progress. Almost nothing in his life was the way it should be. Every time he was sure it couldn't get worse, it did. He stared up at the night sky wondering absently if there would ever be a change to the constant chaos…

"Hey…what's that?" He peered up at an incredibly fast moving light in the sky. "What the heck?" He tried to get a closer look. Unfortunately, it was already gone before he could make it out. "Airplanes don't move that fast," He said to himself. He shrugged and left, climbing down into the nearest window.

He already knew that whatever it was, it was going come up in his already crazy life.

--

Elsewhere, in a pocket dimension, a certain diminutive, red haired scientist looked at the readings her computer gave off. "Eh? What's this? Someone just entered the atmosphere…" she resolved to have Ryoko find who or whatever it was later. Right now, she had more important things to do…

"Teeenchiiiiiii!! Where are youuuuu?" The diminutive scientist was wearing her nurse uniform and carrying a large syringe. "I just want to get a bone marrow sample! It'll be quick!"

Nearby, hiding behind some large and conveniently placed crates, one Tenchi Masaki was praying to whatever would listen that the crazed girl-woman would not find him. He chanced a glance out and saw Washuu with her back turned, looking around. 'Why does she need a syringe to get a bone marrow sample?! She can't be meaning to get it with that! And why does she want a bone marrow sample anyway?' The young prince of Jurai shuddered. 'At least it's not one of _those _samples.' He turned and ducked back behind the crates when the girl walked out of his range of sight.

"There you are, Tenchi!" The crab-haired woman-child was standing right in front of him with a huge grin on her face. Tenchi screamed and made to run but a strange contraption appeared behind him with robotic tentacles and a metal lab table with restraints. In seconds, he was strapped to it and Washuu was standing at the head of the table with a dark smirk on her face. "Don't worry, this won't hurt… too much!"

--

In Fukuoka, a tall, attractive man dressed in a lab coat blinked in suprise at a computer screen. "Something entered the atmosphere at that speed? Interesting…" He turned to a small girl who was currently doing somersaults around the room. "Second, did you manage to scan it?" The android stopped bouncing around.

"Yes, doctor! The object, moving at 482,245 km/h, roughly 2.79 meters long and .78 meters wide landed at latitude 33.525032 degrees North, longitude 130.364392 degrees East!" The good doctor stared at the android for a moment, then turned and looked at his computer screen again.

"That's not far from here…"

--

At Mahora Academy, two kids were walking across the campus at night. One of them, a young boy by the name of Negi Springfield, suddenly looked up at the night sky. There was a flash of light and a huge shooting star suddenly shot across the sky towards the west, causing him to stop in surprise. "Huh?" The tall, red headed girl beside him blinked, then glanced at him and looked up as well.

"What are you looking at?"

"It was moving…so fast…" he muttered to himself. "Uh, nothing Asuna-san. Let's keep going."

--

In Juuban, a certain green haired woman looked up at the sky with a frown on her face. "It's him…" Setsuna Meiou sighed and stood up from the park bench. "It's started, then…"

--

Chapter 1

--

Ranma was sitting in the Furinkan High cafeteria eating his lunch alone.

The day had started out very different from others; Akane had merely shaken him awake instead of pouring water on him, and seemed particularly cheerful about something, Kuno hadn't bothered them as soon as they entered the campus, and as a result of that, He and Akane made it to class on time. That meant no standing out in the hall with buckets. When lunch time came, Ranma left the classroom to go the cafeteria and eat there, while Akane stayed in class to talk with her two friends Yuka and Sayuri about something.

Ranma found himself getting increasingly paranoid when Shampoo didn't burst in through any of the walls, and Ukyou didn't try to feed him any Okonomiyaki. Although he would have really appreciated the Okonomiyaki, since his lunch was finished.

"Hey, Ranma!" The pig-tailed teen blinked and looked up at the two teens standing at the opposite side of his table. Daisuke and Hiroshi both had conspiratorial looks on their faces.

"Oh. Hey, you two."

"Ranma, did you hear?"

"There was a UFO sighting last night!"

Ranma tried to fake an interested expression. "Oh really…?"

"Yeah, but the government hasn't confirmed it."

"But you know, it's got to be real," Daisuke said. "Residents from different cities all over the country all say they saw it at about the same time. They say it was moving way too fast to be a plane or satellite."

Ranma looked up at his friends. "Huh…you think it could've been aliens?" He asked.

"Well…Maybe,"

"If they were, they're probably coming here for me," Ranma sighed.

--

In Washuu's laboratory, Ryoko and Washuu were both standing infront of a large cylinder with a bright, neon green liquid inside. There was a strange looking… thing inside resembling a heart, but it was much bigger and dark brown.

"Did you really have to tell her to say 'Your mom wants you'?" Ryoko asked the diminutive scientist. Washu chuckled and looked up at her.

"Yeah! Now we're just like a real family!" The Cyan haired woman shook her head.

"Whatever. Whaddya want?"

"Go check out these coordinates," Washu repeated. "I'm sure you've heard of the UFO sighting, recently?"

"Well yeah, but…you don't mean to tell me it was real this time, do you? I mean, Earth is just some backwater mud-ball, no one would come out here…"

Washu stared at Ryoko.

"…And not be after us. I mean, it was so far away, but whatever…" Ryoko took off for her destination, mumbling.

--

The sailor senshi were all sitting around at the Hikawa shrine, discussing recent events. "Alright. So everyone knows what happened last night?"

"Uhhh…what happened?" Usagi looked up from her manga in surprise. Rei gave her friend an exasperated look.

"It's been all over the news! The UFO! The reason Luna called the first senshi business meeting in two years!"

"Oh, that? Well, I'm sure it can't be that serious, I mean there are UFO sightings every day, right?" The other senshi shook their heads at her.

"Well, what can we do? We don't know where it landed," Rei said. "And besides, it's not like we could just walk up and say 'Hi, welcome to Earth.' It's not like they speak Japanese,"

"We still don't know if it's real or not," Makoto interjected.

"The Mercury computer's scans picked up a residual energy. The energy signal was different from any I've ever seen before; I was going to look it up in the database before this meeting was called,"

"Well that seems to confirm its existence." Luna said. "Can you pinpoint where it landed? Maybe we can find something if we go to it,"

"Okay." Ami immediately set to working on the mercury computer.

"Meanwhile," Luna turned to look up at her charge. "Usagi… You're already eighteen! How can you still be so absent minded?" The blonde stuck her tongue out at her.

"Biiih! So I forgot about a silly UFO! It's not like you don't hear people talking about them all the time, all those silly conspiracy theories…"

"Usagi…" The other senshi all sighed, and Rei spoke up. "We've fought real aliens and monsters from other dimensions and the far reaches of space! Don't you think that alone should make you more cautious when aliens and stuff are involved?"

"Well, if something bad was happening, Setsuna would have warned us by now, right?" The blonde asked. "Plus, the only times people were ever right about UFO sightings were _after_ we'd already engaged the aliens or something. It's nothing to worry about!" The other senshi all sighed and shook their heads. "Really, how can you guys be so tense?"

--

Ranma sat down, watching TV. For once, the news was more interesting than Martial Arts Anime (That, and it was reruns anyway).

"Wow. Aliens." Ranma stared at the television in disinterest.

"Heh, with your luck, they're here for you," Nabiki smirked. Ranma stared at her for a brief moment then turned back to the TV.

"You know, things have been really calm lately. Ryouga hasn't been by in a week, the old ghoul, Shampoo and Mousse are still in Fukuoka at that food rally, Akane's spending the night at Yuka's and Oyaji and Tendo-san haven't tried anything stupid recently…" He trailed off and found himself staring at Nabiki. She stared back. This continued for a long moment until she abruptly stood up and ran to her room.

He sighed and sat back to watch the TV. Experts had yet to pinpoint where it could have landed (If it had landed). There was currently no concrete evidence, other than the fact that more than three quarters of Japan saw it. He flipped through the channels, thinking he may as well go practice his kata so he would be prepared for any attacks until he found the food channel. It was live from Fukuoka; the convention the Old ghoul was at was on television. It was an all day event. "Maybe I'll see them," He thought, watching.

--

In the city of F, Excel, Hyatt, and Elgala were all participating in a food rally. It was a part time job that the three had taken to Excel smiled cheerily as she served the next patron a bowl of ramen. Hyatt was on the floor behind the stall, spewing her bodily liquids and Elgala was complaining about cramps. Everything was as it should be…well, almost everything. She glared at the competition next to them. The old lady serving up the ramen had to have been putting narcotics in the stuff; people were lining up and buying it in ridiculous quantities. The woman seemed to know she was being watched and turned to Excel, smiling. Excel turned away and scowled. If only there was some way of making their competition disappear… a glint came to her eyes and she looked at Hyatt; she knew just the way…

--

Back in Nerima, Ranma was finally rewarded for his waiting. There was the familiar "Someone I know is going to be on TV" feeling in the air around him. Apparently, Granny wasn't doing too badly. So well, actually, that she was being interviewed by a man during her break.

"So…Ku Lon, was it?"

"Yes," the withered old woman replied.

"How long have you been in the restaurant business?"

"Hmm, well, It's only been a few months, actually," She said. "When I came to Japan, I needed a way to support myself and my charges," she said.

"You're originally from China, right?"

"That is correct,"

"Wow, it must have been expensive to come out here. Why did you come to Japan, then?"

"Oh, quite a few reasons, actually. My great-granddaughter has a profound interest in some of the things in this country, and I'm her guardian. You know, there are a lot of things in Japan open to her that would never be found in China." She smiled at him.

"I can imagine," the man nodded.

"Well, break is almost over, and I must get back to the stall," the elder stated.

"One more question if you will," the man asked. "How long do you plan on staying in business?"

"Well, that's undecided," she said. "It depends on certain things,"

"Oh? Like what?"

"My granddaughter's future, among other things," She looked the man in the eye.

"I see," He said. They nodded to each other and the camera focused on the reporter. "That's Ku Lon of the Cat Café that can be found in Nerima, Tokyo."

--

Excel smiled again as she handed the bowl to the last patron. She glanced to the side to watch her competition. So far, so good. Old lady hadn't noticed. That was when, all of a sudden…

"Oh…my god…" Several people moaned and groaned and suddenly fell over in front of Excel's stand.

Excel was baffled. "Huh? What! What's going on?" She looked at Elgala. "What did you do to the broth?"

"Me? All I've been doing is washing the bowls!"

"Maybe you're not washing them all the way!" Excel yelled angrily.

"How can you suggest such mean things, senpai?" Elgala teared up and looked away, dramatically. "I _told_ her I would be the best choice for cooking...every time she cooks something, it always turns out much worse than anyone could have expected..." Excel stood behind Elgala, trying to look imposing.

"You're thinking aloud again, Elgala." She said. Excel sighed before she glared at the stall to her right. The old woman smiled at her then went back to her own business. "This whole thing is her fault! It must be some sort of Chinese conspiracy to keep Ill Palazzo's servants down…"

--

The next morning, in some skyscraper high up in Fukuoka, four people were standing before a corrupt, mustachioed city official by the name of Doctor Kabapu. The four were part of a secret "Department of City Security", which was actually a group of untrained individuals given powerful weapons including a bodysuit that acted to increase the physical strength and toughness of a human being to ridiculous levels and futuristic weaponry.

This group consisted of calm and collected Matsuya Misaki, the luckless, ever skeptic and pessimistic Watanabe Toru, The idiotic optimistic once-died-from-cancer-but-was-brought-back-as-a-cyborg Iwata Norikuni (who continued working for the city for some reason even though he was legally dead and thus could not be paid), and the very overweight Sumiyoshi Daimaru from Osaka who spoke with a heavy Osakan accent, and played all manner of video games and dating sims on his PC. All of them were very normal people (with the exception of Iwata since being revived) with normal aspirations (again, sans Iwata), and dreams. (Can Iwata still dream, even? Who knows)

"You want us to WHAT?" Misaki stared at the bearded man seated before her.

"Investigate this area, just outside of Fukuoka city limits," Dr. Kabapu said, handing her a clipboard. Kabapu's incredibly competent secretary spoke up.

"Shiouji-san detected something strange two nights ago and estimates it to have landed somewhere outside of Fukuoka."

"Landed?" Watanabe. "You wouldn't happen to be talking about the UFO everyone's been talking about, now would you?"

"That is to be seen," The man said with certain gleam in his eyes. "But if you've got something better to do, by all means, go ahead."

"Ugh…" They were about to leave when he added one more thing.

"If you find any…visitors, detain them and have Ropponmatsu take them to Shiouji's lab." The four started walking out of Kabapu's office, Iwata with a noticeable spring in his step, then Misaki turned around.

"Why'd Shiouji wait a whole day to tell us about his discovery?" The other three also stopped, slightly interested in the answer.

"Err… incidentally, yesterday was his day off," The doctor said. Misaki stared at him for a moment, an odd expression coming on her face.

'Incidentally?' She shook her head. "I see…"

--

Ranma awoke to the familiar sensation of cold water in his nostrils and all around his body. He almost literally flew out of the koi pond and landed on Genma. 'At least things are starting to look normal now,' he thought.

After the session with Genma, he ate his breakfast and started walking to school. He jumped atop the fence and started walking along it when all of a sudden, there was a blur followed by a sonic boom that almost knocked him off. He stared ahead at Furinkan high, then shrugged. "Whatever," He continued walking until he made it to Furinkan and stopped at the gate. "Eh? No Kuno?" He wondered aloud. "Is Akane already here then? I might not be late again…"

Kuno moaned on the ground at the gate. There were footsteps all over his back. "What sorcery…was that…"

--

"Class, we have a new student today." The teacher motioned to a young man standing in the doorway. The boy nervously walked over to the sensei and bowed to the entire class. "Uhh, hello. My name is Touya Watanabe, but my friends call me Sonic." His long, spikey blue hair grabbed everyone's attention.

A random student raised his hand. "Uh, Watanabe-san," The boy asked. "Are you here to take revenge on Saotome Ranma?" While most of the students laughed, Ranma and the sensei both prayed to whatever gods existed that the answer was no.

Touya just looked nervous.

"Um…No," He said. "I've never heard of him. Is he famous?"

"He's a martial artist," The boy said.

"If that is all," the sensei interjected. "Watanabe-san, If you could please take a seat, so that we might get started," Watanabe sat down in the empty seat next to Ranma. The sensei began his lesson and Ranma stared at the new student next to him. 'His chi levels are higher than average. I'll have to ask him about that.' Ranma made a mental note to do this later.

Ranma turned to look out the window and sighed. Looks like another boring day…

--

A few kilometers south of Fukuoka, Ryoko sighed and flew over the area. It was a mountainous forested area, completely devoid of anything resembling a sentient species. "This is so boring. What the hell was Washuu thinking? It was probably just a meteorite," She flew higher to get a better view before leaving, but when she looked around, she finally noticed something worthwhile.

It was a new crater. A very large one too; it wouldn't go unnoticed by the general public for long. She flew down and hovered over the center, when a voice suddenly called out to her.

"Hey! You! Down there!" a female voice called out. Ryoko looked up at the rim of the crater and noticed a group of oddly dressed people. There were five people; a heavyset man, a skinnier, marginally healthier looking man, an attractive woman and two androids—no, one of them was a Cyborg.

"Yeah?" Ryoko called back.

"Are you an alien?" they

"Uh…yeah," Ryoko answered back.

"Do you really speak Japanese?"

"Yeah, sure I do, learned it a while ago." Ryoko blinked. 'They must have thought I was just repeating a sound or something.' The alien woman frowned. 'Do I really look that dumb?'

The people conversed for a few minutes before they came to a conclusion. "Hey, can you come here for a moment?" Ryoko shrugged. Sure, why not?

--

"Yeah, sure I do, learned it a while ago."

"Long time ago?" Watanabe whispered.

"Maybe they teach Japanese in space!" Iwata suggested. "Or maybe Japanese people aren't from earth, but instead colonized the planet a long time ago and mated with the natives, and she's from the original species!"

Misaki shook her head with her hand on her face. "With everything that's been going on these past few days, that wouldn't surprise me," She sighed. 'It's probably just some kind of advanced technology…' She shook her head, then turned back towards the 'Alien.' "Hey, can you come here for a moment?" The girl shrugged before vanishing and reappearing before them. She fixed an intense stare on them at them and a few of them took a step back.

"So what's your name?"

"Uhh…Ryoko. Why, you wanted something?" the alien girl asked. It was more obvious now that she was an alien; the teleporting, the floating, the ears, the eyes, the clothes… Everything about her screamed 'not from this planet.'

"Yeah, Ryoko-chan," Misaki said, revealing the laser that Kabapu had given her. "Welcome to Earth." She fired the gun without a moment's hesitation and in Ryoko's surprise she wasn't even able to dodge. The blast hit her head-on point-blank range, and Ryoko screamed from inside a bright, arcing electrical web and Misaki wondered for a moment if she should have done that. Her worries were assuaged however when the smoke cleared and Ryoko's unconscious form was lying prone on the ground.

"Huh. It worked."

"Is she dead?" Iwata asked. He poked the alien's left boob with a stick. No reaction.

Watanabe sighed. "Well, let's take her Shiouji."

--

Ranma looked around for the new kid during lunch. "Has anyone seen Touya around?" Several people pointed at the track. "Thanks." he walked to the track and looked around for Touya. He spotted the boy running head to head with several of Furinkan's fastest track team members.

The other boys were already panting and dripping sweat, but "Sonic" looked like he could go on for hours. 'Well, that's nothing. I can do that,' Ranma thought to himself. He walked over to the starting line and waited for the boy to finish up his race. The boy spotted Ranma and smiled, running over to him.

"Ah, you're Saotome-san, right?" Touya stood at his full height and stared at Ranma.

"So you're a runner?"

"Yep, fastest guy in the world as a matter of fact," Touya smirked.

Ranma frowned. "Do you practice any martial arts at all?"

"Some, but from what I've heard, I'm not nearly a good as fighter as they say you are," He chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

Ranma nodded. "Well if you ever wanna learn the art, you can come to the Tendo Dojo." He said.

Touya nodded. "I'll do that sometime," He said. He turned back to the track and started jogging at a light pace. Ranma walked away from the track and back to the building.

--

The rest of the school day was uneventful. Shampoo and the Old Ghoul were in Fukuoka for two more days, and only the kami knew where Ryouga was. Akane told him she'd meet him home, which left Ranma taking the scenic route back to the Tendo Dojo, roof hopping around until something on the ground caught his attention…a blue-blur moving at ridiculous speeds passed through the city below him, stirring up powerful winds in its wake. "What the hell is that? That was the second time I've seen that," He said. He shrugged and finally made his way to the Tendo Dojo.

When he arrived, a familiar voice yelled "Saotome! Prepare to die!" Ranma landed and immediately took up a stance.

"P-Chan, there you are," He said dodging Ryouga's umbrella swing from behind to the side. He turned to face the snarling boy and snickered. "I was actually starting to worry. Couldn't stay away from Akane too long, though, could you?" He continued dodging Ryouga's attacks with more difficulty than before. He had to give Ryouga credit – wherever he'd been, he'd been increasing his speed.

Ryouga snarled at his opponent. "Shut up and fight me, Ranma!" he lunged with a quick thrust of the umbrella and feinted to the left. Ranma saw through it easy and was prepared for his opponent to suddenly attack from below. Ranma jumped over the umbrella swing that would have taken a normal man's legs off and ducked under the next swing, and launched a few hundred kicks at Ryouga. The fight was escalating as Ranma had to acknowledge a notable skill increase on Ryouga's part.

He knife handed Ryouga's abdomen and vertical punched his solar plexus. The lost Boy's toughness actually hurt Ranma's knife hand but his chest was still a soft spot. The lost boy tried to sweep his legs from under him, but only managed to open himself up to an attack, namely an aerial spin kick. It knocked him back a bit and he had to roll to get to his feet. He jumped up and slammed Ranma towards the ground with a powerful spike and then fell towards his opponent. Ranma rebounded off the ground and into Ryouga's gut with his fist. They both separated and stared at each other.

Their eyes met and both smirked.

--

Touya jumped over an obstacle, and swerved through traffic. He ran over several of the cars and jumped onto a chain-link fence. Leaning at an angle he was able to grind the fence like he was on a skateboard or roller blades. He somersaulted off the fence, passing over a house, then a street, then two more houses that were separated by a wall, at a speed that made him leave after images in the air. The blue haired teen left skid marks on the street when he landed, and he stopped in front of a moderately sized house.

Touya walked up to the door, and it opened before he could do anything.

"Everything's a race with you, isn't it?" Another young man stood at the door. The boy had long, spiky hair like Touya's, but it was black with red streaks.

"You know me, fastest thing on Earth, running like the wind, hates sitting still, all that jazz," He walked in past the boy without an invitation and looked around the house. "Wow, It's not as dark as I expected. Letting you furnish the place wasn't such a bad idea after all."

"What are you trying to say?"

"That your taste in fashion and style have improved," Touya snickered. He took his shoes off and ran into what could be called a living room. "Western Décor, I like," Touya sat down on the couch and turned a large, flat screen television on. The other boy grumbled and shut the door with an audible slam and walked over to join the other teen. He sat in a recliner and picked up an open book.

"I copied it out of a magazine," the other one explained finally.

"Figures you didn't design it," Sonic snorted. "So, did you find anything?"

"Oh I found a lot, which I'm sure is more than what you can say."

"Oh really? Like what?" The black haired man looked up from the book.

"This part of town is full of strange creatures, and in response a local vigilante group has risen to the task of exterminating them. They're known as the Sailor Senshi. They're fairly powerful, but none of them could stand up to a Chaos Spear."

"You've seen them in action?"

"Twice."

"Oh. Well, I found a potential carrier," Touya added. "Several, actually. Nerima's a crazy place,"

"We'll have to investigate it then," Shadow said before returning to his book. "Keep an eye on them."

"Heh. You don't need to tell me that."

--

Back in Fukuoka, Excel was walking along the sidewalk by herself, returning home from a temp job when she noticed something familiar whiz by. Squinting, as if it would allow her to remember it easier, she finally recognized it. "Heyy…that's the van! The one with that crazy scientist!" The blonde woman ran after it full speed and jumped onto the back. "Hey, you crazy van!" The van swerved several times in an effort to throw her off.

--

Inside, Gojyou Shiouji recovered from having nearly fallen out of his seat.

"What the hell are you doing?" The bishounen scientist asked his van.

"Master, a human female has latched onto the back of the vehicle. I am attempting to get rid of her."

Shiouji looked out the back window and saw a familiar face. "Huh? What's she doing?" The girl's mouth was moving but it was to no effect as the windows were sound proofed. He shrugged and looked down at the unconscious girl sitting, slumped over in the other chair. Unconscious _alien_ girl. "Just what will happen next?" Just then, the van flipped over to its side from a tight turn.

--

Excel let go of the side of the van and walked around to the motor. She started kicking it some angrily. "Yeah! That's what you get, you evil, possessed automobile!"

"I assure you, it is not possessed. Although I will have to readjust the personality matrix," Gojyou said as he stood up. The door opened and he was able to stand up. Fortunately, he was unharmed by the ordeal. He hefted the alien over his shoulder and took a step out of the van to assess the damage. "This thing…Maybe I should just fly from place to place," He said. "Hmmm…a hover craft…" He made a mental note to review any notes he had on anti-gravitational power. He sighed and started walking to the Research institute where he lived.

Excel blinked and looked at him. "Aren't you going to do something about this?"

"We're on my property. No one's gonna care," He said as he walked into the research institute. "You may want to call a cab." He said.

"Huh?" She looked around. "Where am I?" She ran in after Shiouji, but found he was gone. She looked around and saw a closing door, and ran towards it. She stopped when a thought occurred to her. "What am I doing here? Why did I even get on his van?" She looked around but couldn't see anything. The door was shut, and the hallway was dark. "Oh boy…" There were some scraping sounds as she tried to feel for the wall so she could find her way around. "Is there anyone there? Hello?"

--

The inner senshi were on the fifth floor of a department store, seated at a table in front of an in-store fast food joint, resting from a recent shopping spree. They didn't have any more money to spend, so the rest of the day was going to be spent window-shopping.

"Man, I could go crazy for some grilled beef right now…"

After lunch, of course. Rei rolled her eyes at Usagi and was about to respond, but noticed two distinct looking guys walking in their direction.

"Hey, is it me or do they look familiar?" Rei asked.

"Who?" Usagi asked, looking around.

"Those two guys with long hair that look like they just came from an anime convention,"

"Yeah, but from where? Can't place it…"

"Hmm…" Amy got out her Mercury computer.

"Who? Where?"

"Right over there, you idiot! They're so obvious," Rei muttered something about an incompetent leader.

"Take that back!" Usagi whined. "I'm not an idiot,"

"There's something strange about those boys. The Mercury computer can't scan them."

Rei frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Their data is… foreign. It's like having a file on the computer without knowing what program to use to run it. It needs new software." Everyone stared at her. The only one who didn't get the significance of that statement was Usagi. They both looked confused.

"New software?" Rei asked.

"For the Mercury computer?" Minako blinked.

"It's strange, I know, but…" Ami shook her head. "I'll have to analyze this data later."

"Wait a minute, Ami. Do you think…they could be from that UFO?"

"…It's possible. I hadn't considered that." Ami said. "That doesn't change anything, though. They're still anomalies, which makes them potentially dangerous."

"Hey, I just remembered something," Usagi said.

"That you're a stupid odango-atama?" Rei asked.

"No! That boy was the one we saw when," Usagi's voice suddenly dropped to a whisper. "Those creatures yesterday, remember? The one with black hair was there alone, watching us. When we were done, he was gone."

Everyone suddenly sat back and digested the information. "You think they're the source of those strange new creatures?" Makoto suggested.

"Why wouldn't they just fight us instead of sending those creatures?"

"Who knows? Maybe it gets them off," Rei said.

"I honestly doubt that," Ami frowned. "Just because they were there doesn't mean they were the source. Any one of the people in this building could have been there, and could be the source. Any one."

"But I thought Pluto said there would be no more threats to Crystal Tokyo? I mean, maybe the monsters are just left over scraps from our previous enemies…" Usagi suddenly asked, serious. "It's been two years but…"

"This is something we'll have to ask her about. It could be something her future self hid from her."

"And it could be that the time gates aren't absolute," A voice suddenly said from behind Usagi. The blonde screamed and fell back in her chair. Setsuna raised a brow at the girl.

"Setsuna, what can you tell us about those two?" Ami asked, looking up from the computer.

"Straight to the point, I see." Setsuna pulled a chair next to Rei and Usagi, who had just picked herself up. "Those two appeared in the Time Gates a few days ago,"

"The UFO?" Minako asked. Setsuna shook her head.

"No, that's something else entirely…and the Time Gates still can't sense it. It's as if it never happened."

"What do you mean?" Usagi asked. "Can't the time gates see every possibility?"

"No," Ami answered for Setsuna. "Whatever that was, the Time Gates never knew it would come in any possibility and still don't know it's there. Almost as if it has some sort of temporal shielding." Setsuna nodded.

"What about those two? Are they trouble?" Usagi asked.

"They have…potential. For both good and…not so good,"

"What do you mean? You mean evil, right?"

"That's the thing- they and their companions aren't evil. They're all trying to do what's best for humanity, and unless everything works out perfectly to show them Crystal Tokyo is the best possible outcome, they'll stop it from occurring,"

"Don't you mean, try to stop it?"

Setsuna didn't say anything.

"…How do we convince them that Crystal Tokyo is best? I mean, it's the perfect society, isn't it?"

"I still have to look into that," Setsuna said.

"Setsuna…" Usagi paused. "…What allowed those two to stay hidden for so long?"

Setsuna frowned. "Chaos."

--

Ranma wiped some blood from his face. Just how the hell did Ryouga get this fast! It was impossible. He was moving so fast he was a blur; one spot one moment, then another the next. Ranma's consciousness was testament to his unmatched skill in the Art. 'If I can figure out a pattern, I might just be able to stop him,' Ranma thought to himself.

Ryouga suddenly blurred over towards Ranma again and threw a powerful uppercut. "What's the matter Ranma? Too fast for you now?" He was smiling in earnest; He was finally going to defeat his hated rival! He was going to be the first martial artist in months to best Ranma Saotome. 'Even a god lost to this man,' he thought. 'And here I am, defeating him with ease!'

Before, Ryouga was a Tank; his hide was tougher than boulders and he could grind one into dust with just one hand. His breaking point training made him impervious to most if not all physical damage. Now he was a monster; His toughness and strength combined with the mind-boggling speed he had somehow reached was enough to overwhelm even the most skilled of foes, as was proving now.

Ranma had finally found a pattern, or flaw in Ryouga's speed. 'He's moving in spurts. His natural speed is the same but he uses some sort of energy boost to move that fast in a specific direction.' He thought. 'But how? It drains his chi, when he starts moving, but by the end it's back up to where it was before…'

Ryouga sped towards Ranma once again. Ranma shouted, "Katchu Tenshin Amaguriken Kaihan; Fuuhi!" Ranma used the last bit of his chi to rocket towards Ryouga. His speed was the same as Ryouga's, which almost made the lost boy to stop in surprise. Almost being the keyword, as Ryouga connected with a roundhouse to Ranma's head, sending the boy to the ground in a deep crater. Ranma groaned loudly in pain as his face met the floor.

"Come on, get up," Ryouga jeered. "Is that it? Are you done already?" Ranma slowly stood up and prepared to meet his foe one more time with a new plan.

"I think you should know something about that technique," Ranma said.

"Oh? And what's that?" Ryouga decided to humor him.

"Come at me and I'll show you."

"Well if that's what you want…" Ryouga sneered. He sped over to Ranma, but when he got there, the other teen had vanished. Suddenly, a heavy fist crashed into the back of his head sending him to the ground.

"You can only move horizontal, parallel to the ground," Ranma said. "Not once have you changed altitude while using that speed,"

"Is that what you think?" Ryouga chuckled. "Is that all you can come up with, Ranma? I thought you were better than that," Ranma put a defiant glare on his face and jumped into the air to prepare a Chi blast. "Come on, then, let's see what you can do!"

"With PLEASURE!" Ryouga jumped at Ranma using his incredible speed. To his shock, Ranma used his own Chi to rocket downwards instead of attack him. When he realized Ranma's plan, it was already too late.

He was going…going…going…gone.

Ranma stared up at the sky at his long time Rival and friend (Or so he considered him to be) and whistled. The lost boy's incredible speed wasn't perfect; Ryouga couldn't stop himself when he used it, no, instead he used gravity and his feet as some sort of braking system whenever he used it on the ground. When he aimed at the air, he had no hope of stopping himself. His starting speed was so high that his momentum carried him on for kilometers.

Satisfied with his victory, Ranma walked into the Tendo home so he could take a relaxing bath and maybe figure out how Ryouga was using this incredible speed, and even make it better.

--

"MOTHER! That's all wrong! I did NOT Kidnap this girl! She's valuable research material!" Shiouji yelled at the incredibly attractive, incredibly busty woman that had given birth to him.

"Oh, my son, the pervert," Miwa Shiouji cried out in as melodramatic a voice as she could manage… which was very good by any standards.

"Like mother, like son," Gojyou muttered. "Look," He said, holding up Ryoko's ears. "Does this look like girlfriend or even rape victim material to you?" He rubbed the girl's ears for emphasis, and she made some moaning noises about some guy named Tenchi rubbing all the right spots. He quickly let go of her ears and looked at them in disgust; they were probably elongated to initiate the mating ritual of her species he guessed as well as heightened hearing. He set her down on a table and quickly vacated the room. He was back in a few seconds with a syringe filled with tranquilizer.

Miwa walked into the room behind him and checked out the girl on the table. "Where did you find her?"

"I didn't, Kabapu's motley crew did. They found her, possibly he or it where I told them to look."

"You mean that UFO?"

"Yes, exactly," He said carefully.

"Well this is strange. I didn't expect to come back and find an extra terrestrial visitor,"

"Oh, I'm sure Japan has several of those," He said, thinking of a few people he knew, one of them within close proximity of his person at the moment.

--

Ranma sighed and stood up from a crater in the street. Akane wasn't in a good mood and it showed as when he tried to use the furo, when she was just getting out, she punted him to the next city. And it just happened to be raining earlier too. The crater she'd made pooled all the water and triggered the curse.

She quickly recognized the area; it was a suburban district in Juban. The house right in front of her belonged to a little old lady that she'd met on occasion when Akane booted her that way… or was it?

The shape was right, but the house wasn't painted white and the lawn was recently mowed (She was the only person she knew of that mowed the lawn as old woman's son would never show up for the job as he was too busy doing whatever it was salary men did) but the address was right. 'Oh well, may as well pay the nice old lady a visit and ask for some hot water. She might talk a lot but she's not all that bad.'

When he knocked on the door, a slightly familiar face answered.

"Touya?" She asked. "Why is your hair all black?" She raised a brow as he noticed something else was off. "Your eyes are red…"

"I'm not Touya, you ignoramus." The black haired boy said. That much was obvious; he had a slightly more muscular build and looked a few years older. Then there were the things she had noticed at first. "Touya! Get your lazy ass over here, you've got company."

'That was kinda rude,' Ranma thought. 'Is this who he lives with? It's no wonder he's so…impolite. But at least it's not this bad.'

"Umm…Hello? Is there something I can help you with?" Touya asked.

"Uh…not really," Ranma looked around at the interior of the house. It was all repainted and refurbished. "Uh, you've been living here for a while, haven't you?"

"No, actually. We just bought it yesterday," Touya said. "I mean, we moved in yesterday,"

Ranma stared at him for a long while before asking. "Oh. Do you know what happened to the previous owner?"

"Um…I heard she died," Touya said. "Her son was the one who was selling the house."

"Really?" Ranma asked, clearly disturbed a bit. "How did she die? I mean, did he tell you?"

"Yeah, it's strange really. Said she was found dead a few days—I mean, weeks ago. She suffocated while trying to call the police. Probably had a heart attack then tried to call someone but fell unconscious face down in her pillow and suffocated. That's how they found her, anyway."

Ranma's eyes narrowed. It didn't sound right at all. The woman was healthy as could be and was quite fit for her age. That she had died so suddenly was a surprise to say the least…and a heart attack? Poor woman had just turned 64 last month. Only people who remembered were Ranma and a few neighbors. "Well…that's too bad…" she sighed.

"You knew her? Wow, are you by chance Ranma?"

"Uhh…People call me Ranko," Ranma said. Touya obviously didn't know about his curse, and didn't need to.

"Oh? Well then, my mistake. Do you know a Ranma?"

"Yeah," She said cautiously. "He and I both helped Konoko-san with chores,"

"Well, if you see him, tell him to go next door, she left him something in the will and our new neighbors have it for him."

"Okay, thanks,"

"Oh yeah! You never told me who you were or why you were here?" Touya said. "Lemme guess. You were looking for the previous tenant," Touya said, kind of sad. When Ranma nodded, Touya saw his chance. "Well why don't you come inside and we can talk about it?"

His callous attitude and the strange gleam in his eye that made Ranma want to punch him in the face. "No thanks, I have to be somewhere," She said. "It was nice meeting you, though." She turned and walked away.

"Well okay," He said. "I hope we meet again soon! See ya!" He waved to her back and closed the door.

Moments later she found herself at the next-door neighbor's door. She knocked and looked down at the pink haired teen who answered. "Oi, Chibi-Usa, where's the Odango-Atama?"

"She's on her way back," The pink-haired girl answered, walking away to allow him into entrance into the house. "Why don't you go ahead and use the bathroom to get some hot water?" She added. "Don't mind the shower, I was just getting ready to use it."

"Thanks," Ranma said, closing the door behind her as she walked in. Chibi-Usa waited patiently for the screams and yelling. She didn't have to wait long, and she snickered as Ranma was thrown out of the bathroom.

"PERVERT!"

"YOU LIED!" Chibi-Usa laughed at Ranma's red hand printed face.

--

"I'msosorry! Ididn'tknowitwasyou!" Usagi repeated her heartfelt apology a number of times. Ranma was glaring at Chibi-Usa who had only a content grin plastered on her face.

"Yeah yeah, that's over and done with," Ranma said. He sighed and everyone became silent. "So when's the funeral?"

"Funeral? Are you joking? Her son's not paying for anything fancy like that. It may as well just be a burial. That man, he might even just put her in a cardboard box and send her off to some university for research," She said, sadly.

"Yeah, she doesn't deserve that. She was a good person…but I didn't realize your children had to pay for your funeral. I'll remind my father." To which they all laughed.

"Oh yeah! Ranma, she left you something," Chibi-Usa stood up and ran to get something.

"While we're waiting, how did entrance exams go?" Ranma asked Usagi.

"I don't even know…I just know I did horrible…"

"Well don't worry, if you have to go ronin you still have all those friends and that part time job,"

"That's not very encouraging," The girl whined.

"It wasn't meant to be," He snickered. "So what about your new neighbors? They the neighborly type?"

Usagi took on a thoughtful look. "They're pretty strange," She said. "They bought the place yesterday but it's already completely different."

"I thought they moved in yesterday?"

"They moved in earlier today, actually. Weirdest part is they're the only people who've been there all day, and one of them left early this morning to go to school, and didn't come back until a while ago…" Usagi realized something. "I saw them both at the department store too, before I came home."

"Well, maybe they have a martial art for decorating. That wouldn't be so impossible, one of them goes to my school,"

"Your school? You mean Furinkan? In _Nerima_?" Usagi gawked at Ranma.

"Yeah, I know, that's strange…Hey, maybe it's speed?"

"Speed?"

"Yeah, the one that goes to my school—he beat the Track team no sweat today at lunch,"

"Well that would certainly explain how they were able to decorate." Usagi added. 'But it doesn't explain why Ami couldn't get a read on them. There's still a chance…'

"…able to beat me." Usagi looked up at Ranma and Chibi-Usa who had returned seconds ago.

"What!" Chibi-Usa asked. "That mean old Ryouga beat you up? How? Was he cheating?"

"He was much faster," The boy said. "First thing tomorrow, I'm challenging Touya to a race. If he's as fast as I think he is, maybe I can ask him how he does it…"

"Why don't you right now?"

"My clothes, He'd recognize them as what 'Ranko' was wearing," the boy said.

"Oh, please tell me you did not use that persona on him,"

"I did," Ranma admitted.

"What did I tell you about that? The more you lie, the worse their response when they find out! And you're such a horribly fake girl."

"Yeah but I was just…"

"You were trying to save your pride again, right? You need to get over that curse, Ranma. It's not that big a deal." Usagi declared.

"I don't know how you can say that. Before this curse, magic was something I'd never even thought of, let alone experienced. If you told me I would one day become a girl, I would have laughed and told you that you were crazy or beaten you up for insulting me,"

"And, just how is that an insult?" A vein popped in Usagi's forehead. "Is being a girl so bad that it's insulting?"

"Yes! It is so horrible! These things on my chest that bounce when if I move the wrong way, and it hurts so much afterwards…and…and…" Ranma shuddered. "That unspeakable thing, down…there… It's a nightmare! I don't know how you can deal with it so easily every month!" Ranma finished his rant and stared at the ground. Usagi and Chibi-Usa were silent. "Every month…"

"I…you…" Usagi blinked and tried to come up with something to say. "Well… Well, it might be scary Ranma," She started carefully. "But it's still mean to say what you did."

"I know, and I'm sorry, but sometimes…it's just…so frustrating." Ranma muttered something under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing… You're right…"

Silence reigned for all of sixty seconds. It was then Chibi-Usa noticed the time. "Uh, Ranma," she said. "It's almost eight thirty,"

"WHAT?" Ranma looked up at the clock. "EIGHT THIRTY?" He stood up and ran away, forcing the door open. "I'm late!" He screamed all the while.

"That boy," Usagi said. "All he needs is a bit of grooming. If I didn't have my Mamo-chan, I would take him from that awful situation he's in," She sighed and walked away to go watch TV.

Chibi-Usa sighed. "You would just add to the situation, tubby," She closed the door and leaned on it for a few moments. "But I…" she shook her head. 'What's the use. I already know how that'd end.'

--

Excel managed to stumble into a lit room with a lab table. Lying on the table was the girl that she had seen with the scientist earlier.blinked as she watched the sleeping girl. She seemed to fit the description "alien", although she was built no differently than any other human female, she had several strange appendages she would never expect/hope to find on a human. Not even Hyatt.

"I must report this to Lord Ill Palazzo," She said. "Right now, I have to look for a way out," She turned around and noticed an oddly dressed girl cleaning the room. "Why is that girl dressed in a red shirt and black pants? And her hair is in a pig-tail…"

"Umi-Kun…" Shiouji said walking into the room. "…" He stared at the girl in the red and black for a good ten seconds before he remembered what it was he was going to say. "Prepare some tea. We may have…a visitor soon," He said Shiouji looked over at Excel and blinked. "…Why are you still here?"

"I've been trying to escape for the past few hours!" The blonde snapped. Shiouji sighed and covered his face with a hand. "It's not my fault I got locked in a big, dark, and scary place! And what sort of thing are you doing here? Are you some sort of mad scientist?" Shiouji peeked at her between his fingers, a frown lining his face. Before he could answer, though, the girl on the lab table groaned.

"Ugh…" Excel turned to see the girl waking up. "That was a good nap…"

"Damn." Gojyou looked at Excel. "Come on, I'll show you the way out."

--

Ryoko yawned and tried to remember what had happened. She felt very calm, but couldn't remember for the life of her…anything. At all. Not even her name or anything like that. She sat up and looked around. "Where am I?" She asked no one in particular.

"Excuse me, miss," Gojyou said as he walked back into the room with a clipboard and pen. "Ryoko, right?" He asked.

Ryoko assumed that was her name and looked at the man. She blinked several times.

"How are you feeling?"

"Um…Kinda mellow," She said, to which Shiouji started writing on his clipboard. "Who are you?"

"My name is Shiouji Gojyou. Do you know where you are?" He looked up from his clipboard.

"Um…" She paused again. "Your house?"

"The planet, I mean," He said.

"Uhhh…no," She answered. "Not really. I don't even know who I am,"

Silence reigned after that last comment. Gojyou sat down and stared at his hands. The tranquilizer had been enough to take down several men but it didn't seem to be having much of an effect. If she had amnesia from Misaki's blast, there was no telling what she could have done, destroyed in her anger if he hadn't. He bet she could kill him without even trying at that very moment.

Yes, the tranquilizer was a _very_ good idea.

"You don't know who you are, what planet you're on or anything like that?"

"Nothing at all, except your name and what you've told me my name is…" She asked. "What are all these weird questions you're asking me? Is it odd to find someone from a different planet on yours?" Gojyou nodded.

"My species hasn't made contact with an alien race in recorded history," He explained. Ryoko blinked.

"Really? Well, nice to meet you, I guess." She said. Gojyou coughed.

"Likewise. Um… My…co-workers were ordered to investigate a crash site and they found you…unconscious," he said. "We couldn't find any ship of any kind, and my employer is covering up the situation as we speak. No one else will know you are here," He said, not believing his own words.

"Whoa. That sounds pretty cool." she said. "So…Um…"

It was quiet again.

"…Excuse me," Shiouji said. He left the room, leaving the girl to herself.

Ryoko looked at her hands.

--

Ranma woke up the next day looking up at the ceiling of the guest room. 'I'm not wet?' He sat up and looked around the room. Pops was still sleeping, Mr. Tendo was probably reading the weekly newspaper, Kasumi was likely cooking breakfast, Nabiki was probably counting money, and Akane could be heard outside breaking bricks with her fists. 'Oh yeah…today is Sunday. Well that changes things; I can't count on meeting Touya at school today. I'll just have to go to his house.'

He dressed in his navy blue chinese clothes and walked down the stairs to find his earlier assessment to be correct; Kasumi was busily toiling away in the kitchen while the father was reading the newspaper, Akane's loud grunts and the smashing of bricks could still be heard, Nabiki was in her room working on something,

Ranma decided he'd eat later, since it'd be best if he left before anyone knew he was awake. The Saotome youth walked outside of the Tendo's house, jumped onto a nearby fence and from there jumped the roof of another house. He ran across to get a good momentum and jumped again, when an idea occurred to him. He suddenly slowed down and started sending Chi to his legs, when all of a sudden, the world slowed down around him. He looked around in surprise, seeing things around him had more or less frozen. He felt the chi in his legs stop building and prepared to jump. Time sped up again and he was gone.

Up in the air, Ranma couldn't believe what he was doing. He looked below himself and saw several clouds. He hoped he was going in the right direction, as he couldn't tell from his current position. It didn't last too long, though as he found himself flying towards the ground. The ground kept coming faster, at a speed he never thought he would ever travel, until it was too close. When Ranma landed, he blacked out immediately.


	2. Life Stream

Disclaimer: None of the series, characters, or locations mentioned in this story are owned by the author of this story unless stated otherwise.

---

Ranma groaned and tried to stand up. His body felt like mush and his head was reeling.

"What the hell was I thinking?" He settled for sitting up and looking around. Behind him was a dragged-out crater, as if he had traveled for some time along the ground before stopping. Ranma tried to stand again, only to fall to his knees, and then yell in pain as he fell flat on his face. He opened his eyes to try and dull the sensations by focusing on what was ahead of him.

Ranma sincerely hoped he hadn't shattered every bone in his body, which he knew was a distinct possibility. "I need to get some of that toughness training that Ryoga does," he muttered while sitting up again so he could lay on his back instead of his face. "Where am I anyway?" Ranma finally looked around and noticed his surroundings.

He was in a park he knew was located near the late Konoko's home. "I'll ask Touya just how it is he moves so fast," He started. "…As soon as I can get up," He blinked as he saw a pink haired girl approaching him from the side. "Hey, Chibi-Usa," He said with a weak wave. The girl was wearing a black shirt with some funky anime designs on it and a pair of cargo shorts. She had black and white striped stockings and some worn out sneakers. He shrugged; the girl certainly had an odd taste in fashion…

"Oh, Ranma." Chibi-usa likewise blinked as he waved. "What are you doing here? Isn't it too early for you to be pissing off violent tomboys?"

"Haha, never too early for that gorilla girl to get mad at anything, really..." He sighed. "But she didn't-"

"Why don't you ever leave them?" Chibi-Usa asked in a huff. "I'm sure once Usagi moves in with Mamoru she'll let you stay with them," She said. Ranma blinked again.

"I wouldn't want to be a burden," he said.

"You don't have to. She'll probably let you pay rent."

"She's too nice to take money from me like that,"

"But Mamoru won't be," Chibi-Usa pointed out.

"That's true. I could pay him behind her back…but really, I'm staying with Tendo-san because of family honor," Ranma groused. "I can't without marrying one of his daughters or I'll be worthless," He said.

"What about your personal honor?" Chibi-Usa demanded. "What have they ever done for you in the past? To what do you owe them? If anything, it seems like they would owe you!" She realized she was raising her voice and tried to calm down.

"They're just people, Usa-chan," He said. "And they let my entire family bunk with them. That's something," He reminded her. "And Kasumi has fixed my meals for the longest I can remember. I owe them for all the times I've attracted trouble, eaten their food, and stayed under their roof." Ranma sighed.

"So…you intend on marrying her?" Chibi-Usa asked.

"I don't know…things are so confusing right now," He said. "This has been going on for a while, but…It needs to stop sometime soon, or something really bad will happen…I just get the feeling that one day soon someone or something is going to cross the line and…" he didn't want to finish that thought.

"Ranma…You're unnaturally," She said with a raised eyebrow. "Has something happened?" When Ranma only mumbled in response, she pouted. "Say it louder."

"I had a strange dream,"

"What kind of dream?" Chibi-Usa asked curiously.

"…Everything felt so real, up until the end,"

"Really? What happened?"

Ranma stiffened. "I don't want to talk about it."

"I see," She looked down at the ground. "So where do you want to go?"

"Touya," He said.

"Who?"

"Your new neighbor. I want to know how fast he really is," Ranma finally stood up and flexed the rest of the pain out of his body. "That wasn't so bad," He said finally.

----

Ryoko hummed as she watered the garden in front of the research institute. Professor Shiouji was watching from the bench. "She seems to be peaceful…She doesn't mind Umi-Kun…" He turned to watch some of the girls running by… "Maybe I should tell her that the garden has an automated system," He wondered. When she looked at him, he eeped as she threw the pale at him. "Scratch that- she's definitely violent," he muttered, rubbing the rapidly bruising spot on his forehead as Ryoko approached him.

"Maybe you should court her," Miwa said.

"Mother. She's an alien." He said as if that should answer everything.

"It will be a learning experience, won't it? First human to mate with her species- Oh, it'll be history in the making!" She teased. Shiouji and Ryoko both blushed. They looked at each other for a second before Ryoko turned away and crossed her arms.

"Mother, please…" Shiouji groaned.

"Yeah lady, he's not my type," Ryoko growled.

Miwa giggled girlishly and sauntered away. "I'll leave you two alone," She said loudly.

"Man, your mom's got some problems," Ryoko muttered as Miwa disappeared into the building.

"I would like to say we all have problems," Shiouji said in an oddly defensive way. "Not that all of us…er," He muttered.

"I know what you meant," Ryoko told him. She nodded and sat down next to him. "So when do you think someone is going to come looking for me?"

"Soon," he said. "I mean, someone, somewhere out there must care for you," he admitted. "But what I would really like to know…is why you came to earth…and if such technology exists that is greater than ours, why haven't we been overtaken by enemy forces? Are we so far from greater civilization? Could that mean you're some sort of scout?" He wondered aloud. "So many possibilities, and the best information on possible reasons for extra terrestrial visits are science fiction novels," he sighed. "Theories, fantasies…"

"Reality, now," Ryoko noted. "If we can figure it out, maybe you can write your own book," Gojyou looked at her and snickered. She frowned. "What?"

"Oh, it's not you…it's just…me, writing a book…" He chuckled. "I just couldn't see it."

"I certainly could. You seem like the boring type," Ryoko smirked as she floated up and away from the bench, leaving him to wonder if she'd just told a joke.

"Hey…I'm not boring at all," he said in his defense. "I've made a super android that is capable of processing the same thoughts as humans," he started.

"Ropponmatsu II is nothing compared to what I'm sure I could do if I could remember anything," Ryoko shrugged as she flew towards his house. "I'm hungry. Tell Umi to make something,"

----

Ranma and Chibi-Usa blinked as Shadow stared at them from his doorframe. "You mean he's not here?"

"That's right," Shadow grunted. "He's out on business."

"What kind of business?" Chibi-Usa asked.

"None of yours," Shadow said, slamming the door in their faces. Ranma frowned.

"Well that was helpful…" Chibi-Usa grumbled.

"Maybe we can just wait at your house," He sighed. He really didn't want to go all the way back to Nerima and then come back later. Chibi-Usa brightened at this, though.

"Sure," she said. "I'm sure they won't mind," they both walked into Usagi's house. After leaving their shoes in the genkan, they walked into the TV room. Usagi was watching television and lounging on the couch with her little brother watching from the floor. Both looked up to see Chibi-Usa followed by Ranma.

"Yo," Ranma said lazily.

"Hey, Ranma," Shingo started. "What happened?"

"Nothing, really. Just gonna spend some of the day here," Ranma said, walking over to the couch. He motioned for Usagi to scoot over and sat down with her when she did. "So what's on?"

"There was a monster sighting last night, and the reappearance of the Sailor Senshi has everyone on edge," Shingo said. "It's on most of the local channels, and our dish is having problems, so that's it, really."

"Ah," Ranma blinked. "You mean those girls that were fighting monsters a few years ago?" He'd heard about them before, maybe seen some of the manga based off of them…but that was it. He'd only arrived in Nerima, Tokyo a little over half a year ago, and news of the sailor senshi had dwindled down to a nonexistent state by now. Plus, most of the monster attacks were in Juuban for some reason, so most Nerimians didn't know about it either.

"Yeah, them," Shingo said, turning back to the TV.

"Heh, I'd like to see them in action," Ranma said with a grin as he cracked his knuckles.

"I don't think you'd want to be on the receiving end of a senshi attack, Ranma," Usagi yawned. She rubbed her eyes and tried to stand up. "Oh man…" She walked upstairs to her room. "I'm going to go take a nap, guys. Take care of our guest, you two," Usagi went to her bedroom and closed the door behind her.

"What's wrong with her?" Ranma asked. Chibi-Usa blinked and tried to come up with something.

"I'll bet she was with Mamoru last night," Shingo snickered. Chibi-Usa hit him on the back after that. "Ow…What was that for?" Chibi-Usa just rolled her eyes and sighed.

"No, you moron," she started. "She just stayed up late, that's all," Chibi-Usa said.

"Oh, okay," Both boys accepted that answer. After some time, the satellite service picked up a signal again, and they changed the channel.

Mahora Academy

A small blonde girl sat brooding atop one of Mahora's buildings. She was dressed as a student, and was currently eating a cupcake. As she pondered various things, she stopped, glared at the cupcake, and then continued eating it. "That brat and those ditzy girls of his…" She muttered with a mouth full of cake. She looked down at the people below from the roof of the building. That was when a girl with light green hair suddenly landed beside her. She looked down at the blonde girl and spoke without pause.

_"_Master, the Headmaster wishes to meet with you," the girl said. Her eyes remained emotionless, as did her voice. The girl was inhumanly still as she waited for a response.

"I was expecting this sometime soon," Evangeline said, standing up. "I imagine he wants us all to be at the World Tree," She stated. It was in no way a question; that was the only place where he could call them the way she assumed he was.

"That is correct. The meeting is to start at 1000 hours." Chachamaru jumped from the roof before her feet ignited and she flew towards a tree that could only be described as gigantic. The World Tree was huge; there were still no human constructed buildings that even neared its immense size.

"Hmm," Evangeline looked at the watch on her wrist. It was 9:33. "I guess I'd better make myself presentable and go," She muttered. Twenty-Seven minutes was enough time for her to go home and change. Going in the student uniform was totally unacceptable.

Meanwhile, down below, a young boy and two of his students were walking towards the World Tree.

"I wonder what Grandpa has to say," Konoka said.

"I don't know, but he said it was real important," Negi responded. Unlike the girls, who were dressed casually, Negi was wearing something he'd wear to class.

"I bet I know what it is," Asuna grumbled. "Something so huge that it'll change our lives forever," She said in a mock dramatic voice. Negi and Konoka looked at her uncomfortably before trying to calm her down.

"It can't be that bad," Negi tried to assure her. "I'm sure it's nothing. If it was something important, why would he be calling us instead of Takamichi or Eva-chan, or someone else?" He asked.

"Maybe it's about Negi-kun's father," Konoka said, putting a finger to her mouth.

"You could be right," Asuna nodded. They were both making sense. They rounded a corner and the World Tree came into view. "Hey, doesn't it bother you guys that we've been walking alone for the past few minutes?" She said, looking around.

"You're right," Negi said uncomfortably. The World Tree wasn't exactly a normally off-limits area, and there were usually many people around it. The group finally noticed a group of people standing around the World Tree. "Wow, who are all those people?" They joined the group, and only a few people noticed.

"Ah, so you're that child teacher I've been hearing so much about,"

They all turned around. There was a young man in his early twenties standing there with a smile on his face. "Uh…Yes, that would be me," Negi said politely. He bowed. "I'm pleased to meet you…"

"Hirohata Satoshi," The man said before returning the gesture. "You certainly know your manners, don't you?" He said with a pleased look on his face. He noticed the two girls and grinned at the boy. "I see you've been busy," He said. Negi looked confused.

"Stop teasing them, moron," a brunette that appeared to be the same age punched him in the back of the head, knocking him forward off his feet. "I'm sorry, he's just an idiot. Please ignore him," she said.

"Aiko-chan…" The young man whined from the ground.

"Ah…who are you?" Negi asked nervously.

"Kimura Aiko," She said plainly. "I'm impressed, though. Who taught you etiquette?"

"Ah…I had various professors before I came here, and I've known Takamichi for a while…"

"I see," the girl nodded, as if that explained everything. "So," She said, eying the girls. "These your friends?" She asked. Satoshi stood up from the ground, mumbling something about Amazon women.

"Er, no. They're my students. Konoka and Asuna," Negi said. He was beginning to calm down.

"Hi," Konoka said with a smile. Asuna and Aiko shared a glance, and neither said anything to the other. Aiko nodded and looked at Negi. There was an awkward silence before someone spoke up.

"Well, It was nice meeting you," Satoshi smiled.

"Same here," Negi said.

Ten minutes later, Evangeline joined the group. She was wearing an all black suit with little bat-wings on the wrists. She sat down at the base of the World Tree and waited for the old man to show while trying to ignore the various people around her.

"…she that vampire?" Evangeline heard some students talking about her and turned to face them. She grinned toothily and licked her lips. They kids backed away in fear while clinging to each other. A few of the people nearby chuckled at her antics.

At exactly 10:00 AM, the Headmaster approached the group. All fell silent and all eyes focused on him. Not wasting time, the old man started speaking.

"I assume some of you know why I have called this meeting." He started. There were several nods while most of the younger people looked around in confusion.

"The World Tree, sir?" Negi asked. Konoe nodded. "What have you noticed about the world tree, Negi?" He asked. Negi blinked as he realized the spotlight was on him and he became serious.

"Well sir, the World Tree's powers are increasing. It's generating at least twice as much mana as it normally does, and even still is steadily increasing,"

"That's correct. It is projected that the World Tree will be emitting immense magical power by the end of the month—enough to the point where the entire world will feel it's effects,"

"I thought this happened occasionally," Satoshi interjected. "The students turned it into some kind of love confession spot, didn't they?"

"Yes, that is correct. But it has never happened on this scale. And this is gradual, whereas before it was almost instantaneous," Evangeline said with a half lidded gaze in Satoshi's direction.

"Right," Konoe said. "This is something that has never before happened in the recorded history of the tree," People looked around and there were some murmurs among the group as they processed the information.

"When you say it's going to affect the world, what do you mean?"

"Increased mana output will change many things. For one, the planet itself will become stronger. Mages of all types will also feel strengthened, and even those unassociated with magic will feel more in tune with nature. There are many other things that could happen, but there's no way to know them all. With the world returning to its natural state, magic or it's effects might become an everyday thing for all people of this world," He said.

It was then that the gravity of the situation was apparent. "This is a matter of extreme importance. Members of other governments have been notified of this, and many people of importance are considering revealing this to the general public, so as to keep them from panicking,"

"Panicking? Why would they panic?"

"Well…as I said before, the effects of Mana are limitless. The creatures of legends could decide now is a good time to return."

The murmurs started up again, and Asuna and Konoka looked around, confused. Asuna spotted Negi with a blank look in his face and looked up at the Headmaster.

Unknown place in Japan

Ryoga looked around in confusion as he set his huge pack down on the ground. "I could have sworn there was a crater here yesterday," He muttered. He noticed the outline of a large circle in the ground around him, where the grass's appearance changed. "I guess it was," He sat down, idly wondering how it'd been covered up so fast, and started setting up his tent. When he was done, he took out a portable TV and started watching it.

"Well, that UFO is finally not on every single channel anymore…Let's see, what channels am I getting?" He thought out loud. He rotated the a large dial some before a picture appeared. "I'm near Fukuoka," He said, noticing the emblem of a familiar local station. "I should stop for provisions before I start on my way to Nerima." He flipped through the channels until one came to his attention.

"Explosion…at a bathhouse?" He shrugged and just rotated the dial again. He'd been to Fukuoka before, and like Nerima, the City of F was prone to frequent…weirdness. Not quite as much as Nerima, but still…it was enough that a mere bathhouse-explosion didn't surprise him too much. After a few minutes of turning the dial to see what was on, he just turned the thing off and put it in his pack.

He stood outside of his tent and looked up at the clouded sky. "Well, now's the time to think back on those weird dreams I've been having…" He muttered. "It's weird. I don't usually dream, and these have been in the same setting for a while," It was where he'd learned how to move as fast as he could now. Unfortunately, it wasn't perfected, as it had been in his dream…

The wind picked up, and some leaves flew by his face towards Fukuoka. He watched them before sitting down and drinking some water from a mug.

"The weirdest thing is…ever since these dreams started, I haven't been getting lost as much…" He watched the sun reach its apex in the sky and planned out the next few days.

Nerima, Tokyo may have been a few hundred kilometers away…but this time, when he found it, he'd be there to stay.

With this in mind, the future was beginning to look hopeful for Ryoga.

---

Akane growled as she broke the bricks stacked in the dojo. Ranma'd been missing all day, and it was making her angry. She knew there were only two other places he'd be at on this kind of day; Ukyo's or Shampoo's. How could he be so selfish? He was out floundering with those groupies of his when he should have been there, fighting with the Panda or something…

She could have cooked him lunch. But no, he never accepted things from her, even when she was trying to be nice to him. Always made fun of her cooking… her figure, and her fighting abilities…Her cooking wasn't that bad! Everything she did to improve her cooking, it was for him! Always adding exotic spices she thought he might have liked; after all, living as a globetrotter for ten years of your life changed your palate, she liked to think…

And all the boys in Furinkan had been after her since she'd started there. And now that he's come, she's less than dirt! Just how did that happen? Akane grunted as she crushed another pile of bricks in anger. She sighed when she noticed that there were none left and stomped over to the training dummy with the pig-tail. She started working on a kata, while thinking of the other injustices of her fiancé.

Elsewhere in the Tendo Household, Nabiki Tendo was sitting at her desk and was currently calculating the profits and losses from the previous week. She cheerfully wrote down several notes on a notepad while she tapped the keys on her calculator, adding and subtracting fees from her current total…

"Hmm…With this much, I'll definitely be able to hire security for Yoshida-san's party tomorrow," She thought. "Ranma and his friends will be glad to be getting something from me instead of the other way around for once," she said. "And with this much, I'll still have enough for that new Toshiba swivel laptop," She sighed as she sat up in her chair and looked up at her ceiling.

Yes, that laptop she'd been dreaming about for the past two weeks would finally become a reality. Provided they didn't come out with a new model. Then she'd start saving up more to get that one…

Back in the dojo, Akane was sweating and panting as she relentlessly pounded the training dummy. She was becoming increasingly angry as the visage of Ranma dancing with Shampoo and Ukyo hung in her mind.

"Those little…" she couldn't bring herself to say what she truly thought of them, but the look in her eyes would have been enough for anyone to finish the sentence. Sure, they occasionally helped Ranma out of his troubles, but it was more or less because they didn't want to lose their favorite boy-toy.

Whenever Akane helped him out, it was out of genuine concern. The time she'd gone with him to learn the Hiryu Shöten Ha and whenever something had happened to him to hurt him, she was there to help him get over it; The Dragon's whisker, his mother, everything. And the wedding…the wedding had been completely devastating.

They had been so close to getting married…but that had been screwed up by the girls he was probably flirting with now. She didn't seem to notice that her punches lately had been obliterating even the Nerimian-Martial-Artist-Proof dummy.

And what about then..? Did he really mean what he'd said that day…that he loved her?

Akane stopped and finally noticed the dummy. It was smashed to bits, parts of it lying strewn across the dojo. "Why, Ranma? Why do you have to be so…difficult?" She fell to her knees and punched the ground in anger and sadness.

---

In Juuban, at the Tsukino Residence, Ranma was playing video games with Shingo and Chibi-Usa. He was, of course, winning. It didn't help the confidence or mood of the other two players that he was grinning like an idiot, but he didn't seem to notice. After dominating the two for three fights in a row, he decided to leave on a positive note and set the controller down.

"Alright, that's enough kids," he said standing up and stretching.

"Aww, you afraid we're gonna kick your ass this time around?" Shingo taunted.

"Sure, whatever. The two of you wouldn't stand a chance even if you were on a team," he said.

Shingo was about to say something in retort when the door knocked. Instead, he just said, "You're up. Get the door, girly man," he said.

"My girl form is more man than you'll ever be," Ranma said with a huff as he complied to get the door. When he opened it, he noticed Touya standing there. "Oh, hey,"

"You were looking for me?" the blue haired boy asked.

"Yeah," Ranma said. "I needed to ask you something," Ranma stepped outside with Touya. Chibi-Usa and Shingo watched from the door as the two boys talked.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Shingo asked Chibi-Usa. She blinked and answered him.

"Ranma wants to learn how to move really fast," she said. "He saw someone do it earlier, but he couldn't mimic it, and he thinks Touya might know how it's done."

"I see," Shingo said. After a few more minutes, Ranma turned back to look at them and shouted.

"Touya and I are going to go train now," He said. "Thanks for having me over," That was when he and Touya turned away, and both jumped up onto the house Touya lived in. From there, they both roof-hopped away from the Tsukino residence.

Shingo blinked, in awe as always of the things Ranma could do, and shook his head while returning to the house. "My dad couldn't take _me_ on a ten year training trip," He grumbled. Chibi-Usa raised an eyebrow in confusion at his logic and decided she should go out herself.

"Hey Shingo, I'm going out," she said as she grabbed a snack. "If Usagi wakes up and asks where I am, tell her I'm on my way to Hotaru's," She closed the door behind her and walked out of the house and started down the street.

She started walking the familiar route to her friend's house when she noticed the young man, who had earlier identified himself as Shadow, walking down the street. She idly wondered where Touya's older brother was going and shrugged, leaving on her own way. Although… "Pu says we should try to be friends with them," she said to her self. "Hmm…" Unfortunately, while she stood there in indecision, he'd already left.

When she finally noticed, she sighed. "Oh well, maybe I can see where he goes some other day. And she would get worried if I never showed up at Hotaru-chan's place," she shrugged and started in the direction of her friend's house again.

---

Negi watched the sunset from his perch on the World Tree. The wind wasn't even blowing enough to make the branches of the tree he was on sway at all.

"I wonder…" He looked at the wand he'd inherited from his father and sighed. "If only I could ask you what to do next," The boy held the staff close to him when he heard a rustling from his left. He turned to see Asuna climbing up the tree to see him.

"Asuna-san," He blinked. "You came all the way up here to see me?"

"Ahh," the girl tried to look away from his face. "Yeah, I guess I did." Negi, thinking she was looking at the sunset, turned to it as well.

"Thank you," He said. "You were concerned for me." He looked down at the staff. Asuna blushed and stared at the sunset.

"Eh, kid," She started, standing up. "Why are you still up here? It's been a few hours already."

"I don't know. I've just been thinking is all, I guess."

"Oh come on, Negi. What's there to think about? So the World Tree is acting up again. The area is off-limits to the students now as it was before, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Asuna-san, do you know just how powerful the World Tree is becoming?"

"Well…I got a pretty good idea from old man Konoe," She said.

"It's not like before. This time, it won't just stop at this little area. The tree is becoming much stronger than it was before. Something is happening that will change the world."

"Okay, I get that much," Asuna grumbled as she crossed her arms. "But what does that have to do with us? It might not even happen."

"It has a lot to do with us," Negi said in surprise. "Don't you know what this means? If the whole world becomes magically inclined, then the way human kind is going will have to change. The Earth won't just sit idly by while we exhaust is resources and damage it."

"Are you trying to say that the planet is alive?" She asked incredulously.

"It is," he said. "In a sense. It has characteristics of being alive."

"Okay..." Asuna looked down at the branch they were on. "They teach you that in mage-school or something? Because in normal school, they taught us it was just a big rock," She said. Negi looked at her in surprise and smiled.

"You remember something from class," She looked at him and blushed in embarrassment. She turned towards the sunset. He turned back to the sunset as well. "Yes, that is true. The Earth is essemtailly a big rock. But it also has lifeforce."

"Lifeforce?" Asuna looked confused.

"Yes, Lifeforce, or better known as the Life Stream." He said.

"What's that?" Asuna asked, looking confused.

"The Life Stream is all of the energy of the planet. Of this energy, souls are born and destroyed, as well as flesh. When dead creatures and plants decompose, they become one with the planet, as do their souls until they are reborn. It is…or was supposed to be an endless cycle. Then there was a time when people openly harnessed this power, this life stream. They called it Mako energy." He showed no signs of pausing in his explanation and Asuna decided it would be best to join him in sitting down.

"The people at the time were mostly unaware of its affects on the world. They did not know that they were directly causing harm to the planet. "They found many different ways to use Mako energy. They used it for energy, for magic, and even tried to infuse it into themselves. They were basically taking souls of their dead ancestors, other creatures, basically everything that at one time lived on earth and turning it into electricity, or power." Negi turned to Asuna's face. As expected, it was twisted in a mixture of confusion and disgust.

"You can not fault them, Asuna. They didn't know what they were doing; just that something was there and that it could be used." He turned back to the sunset and started again. "The planet did not like this. Eventually, the people caused a problem that would have destroyed Earth and all sentient life on it. It was called Meteor. It was maybe three times the size of Earth's moon, and headed on a collision course with it."

"The Earth struck out against Meteor using the Life Stream as a weapon. Meteor was devastated, but the Planet was not done. The people that had caused this problem became a problem for the planet, and it decided it needed to get rid of them. Many of them were struck with an odd, never before or again seen disease that is known as the Geostigma. A lot of them died because of this."

"Upon realizing what had happened, the humans were angry at the planet. They tried to use the Mako they had fused into magic, "Materia," as well as creatures that have only been mentioned in history as "Weapon" to destroy the planet." Asuna chose that moment to interrupt.

"Wouldn't that have killed them too?"

"Yes…but these humans were completely insane. As a matter of fact, it is believed that they weren't even completely human. The details are skewed; No one alive now was around back then, and it was an unknown amount of years ago. The face of the earth has even changed since then."

"You mean to tell me…recorded history goes back THAT far?"

Negi nodded. " The technology was eventually lost, and this was only a good twenty thousand or so years ago…but I digress. The point I'm trying to make here…"

"You think the planet may be getting angry at us again," Asuna blinked.

"Someone made a theory that it may happen sometime this century. Not too many people believed it at first, but recently, more and more evidence has begun to show up. The state of the world, that UFO, and now the World Tree. Nuclear weapons are serious, Asuna, and the planet knows that."

"So you're thinking that we might be attacked by this "Geostigma" thing again." Asuna and Negi both sat there in silence, as the last of the sun disappeared. She shook her head, surprised at how well she was taking this all in. Oh well, life with Negi…it was bound to show some oddities here and there. The apocalypse was a new one, but with all the things that had been happening recently, she had no reason to doubt it. "Why haven't the mages done anything about this?"

"What could we do, Asuna?"

"Well, you could tell the governments to stop what they're doing. I'm sure that your powers would be able convince them that you aren't lying."

Negi shook his head. "There's too many unknowns," he held up his wand and realized it was getting late. "For one, they could deem us all freaks and try to fight back. They might even view us as a collective country trying to take over. Our powers would do nothing but scare them into attacking us,"

"But—"

"We should go, Asuna-san. It's getting dark out," He stood up and climbed on top of his staff and flew over to her. "Hop on. I'll take us home," He said with a small smile.

Asuna looked at him in annoyance at not being able to finish her thought, but decided to oblige him. She climbed on behind him and put her arms around him as he flew away from the World Tree.

Down below, one Hirohata Satoshi sat at the base of the World Tree. His arms were crossed and one of his eyes was closed. "…Well that was interesting." He watched them fly away.

Satoshi stood up and lightly kicked his sleeping companion. Aiko grumbled something about her nap being ruined while she groggily stood up to join him.

"You know, you're cute when you're mad," He said with a cheery smile.

"I'm always cute," the girl said in an indifferent tone as she stretched and yawned. "So he finally left?" The sky was rapidly becoming darker.

"Yeah. We can go now. Come on, let's go home." He started walking away from the World Tree.

---

Chibi-Usa and Hotaru walked along the sidewalk, both returning to Chibi-Usa's house from a party they'd both been invited to sometime that week. They stopped at the base of a shrine and looked around, wondering where they were.

"Have you ever been to this part of Tokyo before?" Chibi-Usa asked.

"No. Maybe we can ask the people who own this shrine where we are exactly. They might be able to give us direction to the station." They both started up the stairs to the shrine.

"Oh man, Usagi's gonna pitch a fit at me for being out so late," Chibi-Usa whined.

"Well, we couldn't help it. Time flies when you're having fun,"

Midway up the stairs, both girls were panting. "Enough stairs, don't you think?" Chibi-Usa asked Hotaru. Hotaru nodded her agreement and they both continued up the stairs.

When they finally made it, the sight of a traditional shrine greeting them. There were a house and a well house as well. The only person there was an old man who was sweeping the walkway of leaves and other garbage that had found it's way into the lot.

"Er, Excuse me sir," Chibi-Usa asked in a tired voice. "Do you know where the Train Station is from here?"

The old man looked up at them and blinked, finally noticing them. "Oh…Well, Let's see," He leaned on his broomstick and tried to think up some directions. "Well, we're on Matsumoto street, and that down there is—"

"HEY! OLD MAN!" Chibi-Usa and Hotaru nearly fell over at the sheer volume of the sound. There was a loud booming voice that rang out through out the entire yard. The door to the house slammed open and a young man wearing a red Hakama walked out of the house. "WHERE'S KAGOME!"

Chibi-Usa and Hotaru both stared at the boy in wonderment. The light from the house was enough that they noticed several things about him at once; 1) He had silver hair and a strange get-up that Chibi-Usa had only seen in a play before, but Hotaru recognized from history class. 2) There were two fuzzy ears on his head, and 3) He was exuding a powerful demonic energy, as was the sword attached to his waist.

Oh, and 4) He had a sword.

"Inuyasha," the old man said calmly. "We have guests. Can you not calm down and wait for me to finish with them?" He eyed the 'Boy' and turned back to the girls. "As I was saying…hey, where are they?" He growled in annoyance and turned to Inuyasha. "You scared them away! Damn Youkai!"

"It's Hanyou! And why should I care if two humans freak out and decide to run? All I care about right now is finding Kagome! Then you can worry about those little human girls!"

"…She said to tell you that she's out," the old man returned to sweeping the trash from his yard.

"…Dammit, Kagome!" He decided he'd go out and look for her himself. "Some help you've been, old man. I'll just find her on my own!" He leapt off towards the city with the intent of finding one Kagome Higurashi. "I don't care how big this human city is, I'll find her and take her back if I have to drag her away!"

---

Chibi-Usa and Hotaru watched as the demon they were about to transform and fight _flew_ over them towards another building. Much like Ranma and Touya had done earlier, he jumped from roof to roof, leaving them in the dust.

"Well that was different," Chibi-Usa said. She and Hotaru looked back up the stairs. They both sweat-dropped.

"Maybe we should just ask someone else for directions."

"Yeah."

---

Shadow looked up at the moon with a blank stare from his perch on a boulder. He closed his eyes and reached into subspace. When he opened his eyes, a large green emerald was sitting in his hand, reflecting the light of the moon. He looked up at the moon and got a strange, foreboding feeling. His red eyes focused and he peered up at the moon when he suddenly got a strange feeling and looked in what seemed to be a random direction. He frowned and clutched the emerald, putting up a shield around himself.

Somewhere on Pluto, the Sailor Senshi that guarded the Gates of Time cursed.

Shadow stood up and started walking home.

---

In a small, but comfortable looking room, the Scientist, Gojyou Shiouji was questioning his guest again.

"Ryoko," Gojyou started. "Does the name Tenchi mean anything to you?" He asked.

"Tenchi…Tenchi…" Ryoko stopped. There was the silhouette of a face, and some emotions associated with the name, but that was it. "I think he was a friend…"

"You sure he was just a friend?" Gojyou asked.

"No…" Ryoko blushed. "I wish I knew more about him, but…All I get are some flashes and feelings…It's very weak, so I can't say more than that," She looked at him apologetically. "How did you know that name?"

"You were muttering it in your sleep." He wanted to say they were potentially lovers, but he didn't want to offend her. And who knew, maybe friends touched each other intimately on the world she was from? "Maybe if we could see your dreams, we could find out more about you."

"That would be neat," She said. "But do you have something that can do that?" Ryoko cocked her head to the side.

"No…I suppose not," He muttered. "I'm sure I could make something like that in a week, or a month…but no, I don't have one anything like that on hand,"

"And by then, someone will probably have come looking for me…"

"So it's pointless. Although I could see the uses of such a creation." Shiouji turned to the door and walked out of the room. "We're going out tomorrow," He said. Ryoko blushed and frowned at him.

"What do you mean by that!" She asked indignantly.

"Ah, not like that," He said. "You're not my type, really," He assured her. "I need to see a few things, that's all." Ryoko blinked and nodded. It was probably an experiment or something.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," She said. He shrugged and walked out of the room.

"Lights off," Ryoko said. The main computer recognized her voice commands and before she could blink, the lights were off.

Ryoko sighed as she slowly fell asleep. She knew, she just knew that she didn't really need to sleep…but there was nothing else to do really, and she would have been bored sitting in her room for the next eight hours…

---

Ranma slowly crept into the Tendo House under the light of the full moon. He looked around and noticed that the coast was clear. Using the stealth skills he'd learned from his father, he snuck through the house before he realized that there was a strange feeling coming from another room.

It was like a sound, but not exactly something he was hearing. He realized that the TV was on; for some reason, even though no one else said they could, he could just –feel- when something like the TV was on. Not even Cologne or Happosai had been able to explain it to him, so he figured it was just something unique to him.

He wandered over to the TV so that he could turn it off—Nabiki tended to get vicious if things like the TV or the lights were left on overnight. When he came into the room, he saw Akane sitting on the couch.

The poor girl was sleep with the TV still going. He almost chuckled until he noticed the tear streaks under the girl's eyes. He was shocked; Akane'd been crying? What could it have been?

Ranma growled to himself and swore violent retribution against who or whatever it had been that made her cry. Did she finally find out about P-chan or something? Was Kuno getting on her nerves? Had Shampoo or Ukyo come to hurt her for trying to marry him? He inspected her for injuries as gently as he could and when he found nothing, he sighed in relief.

"Whoever made you cry," He thought to himself. "I'll make them pay." He turned off the TV and went to get a blanket for Akane. When he returned, he positioned the girl over the couch and put the blanket over her.

Instead of going upstairs to his room, he decided to lay down on the floor and sleep close to her. When he finally closed his eyes, Akane's face was the only thing that came to his mind.

Needless to say, Ranma did not sleep very well that night.

---


	3. Satsugeki Bukou Ken

Disclaimer: None of the series, characters, or locations mentioned in this story are owned by the author of this story unless stated otherwise.

---

As you all know, my writing is very inconsistent. Although I do intend to finish this story, that could literally be years from now. Fortunately, time and creativity have found me for now, but whether or not I'll get out another chapter soon depends all on how I'm feeling…

Also, any glaring errors will be fixed tomorrow 'cause I'm too lazy to fix it right now and I would like to get a response soon.

-- Go --

Ranma groaned as he slowly sat up. The rays of the morning sun had decided that he'd had enough sleep. Hadn't he been through enough lately? He glanced at the nearby digital clock and nearly cursed. It was official; he hadn't gotten any sleep at all that night. On the road, he'd had to handle long amounts of time without much sleep at all, but that had been quite a while ago.

Now, however, he had gotten used to the pampered life(or so his father often called it, anyway) and he rarely had to go longer than twenty four hours without sleep. Add to it that he'd been deathly tired from all that running the day before, Ranma felt like he could do nothing that day but lie there until sleep finally came.

However, one irate Akane Tendo had other plans. Not ten minutes after he'd woken up, the girl joined him in the world of the conscious. Ranma noticed immediately and turned up towards her.

"Oh, hey Akane-"

"Don't you 'Hey Akane' me," She growled as she stood up from her sleeping position.

"Akane?" He asked, frowning.

"Where were you yesterday!"

"I-I was out training," He said.

"Training? Training for an entire day?" She repeated, calming down. That wasn't too unusual for Ranma, but he only really trained like that when he'd lost at something, or something serious happened. "Why, what happened?"

"Nothing…" He muttered, looking away.

"Ranma," She clenched her fist in aggravation. "Tell me what happened."

"Nothin' happened, alright! The new kid at school, Touya, he's just really fast, and I wanted to learn how to be as fast as him!" He said, standing up. "Jeez, just because I spend an entire day trainin' don't mean I lost a fight or nothin'!" He complained. Akane looked at him, surprised.

"Oh…I see." She looked around. "But, the whole day? Why would it take you so long? It's not like there's some kind of technique that makes you inherently faster, is there? You just train, right?" She looked at him, confused.

Ranma nodded, excitedly. "Yeah, that's what I'd thought. Until three days ago and I figured out what I'd been doing with the Katchu Tenshin Amaguri Ken for so long, and I tried to make my whole body faster using the same technique. But it made me tired so fast I nearly lo-er, passed out."

"And Touya knows the technique for making yourself faster?" She asked.

"Yeah…"

"So you were there the whole day trying to learn that one technique?" She asked, awed. Sounded like some technique…

"Well, no, I spent the first few hours at Usa-chan's, but she wasn't there. Something about-"

"Usa-CHAN?" Akane was seeing red. "WHO IS THAT?"

"Er, that is," Ranma paused, realizing he'd never told anyone about Usagi or her sister… "Tsukino-San," He corrected himself. "She lives over in Juban, but I get to see her pretty often these days," He said.

"Is she some kind of weekend floosy or something!" Akane asked, irked.

"Hey, Akane, calm down already! It's not like we're—" Unfortunately for Ranma, Akane, considering last night and having just woken up, was not in the mood for listening.

---

Ranma groaned as he climbed out of a newly made crater. He surveyed the area trying to get a grasp on the situation.

"Stupid tomboy, gettin' all mad so early," He grumbled and finally realized where he was. He recognized this part of town; one of Akane's friends, Higurashi Kagome lived around here. She'd hung out with Akane shortly after he moved to Nerima but after about a month or so she stopped visiting. The girl was a year away from High School but from what little Akane'd been telling him lately it didn't seem like the girl would make it through.

She'd come into contact with many different chronic illnesses that made Ranma honestly consider if she had AIDS or something, but dismiss it, as she was so young. He'd offered to come and scan the girl's aura to see exactly what was wrong(maybe she was cursed and the old ghoul'd have been able to help or something), but the girl's family had politely declined on several occasions.

Oh well, now that he was here, he may as well visit.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and walked down the sidewalk, looking for the steps that lead up to her shrine. He'd been to her house with Akane on more than one occasion, so he knew where it was and what it looked like(Not that it was hard to forget).

He finally arrived at the base of the shrine's steps and looked up. With practiced ease he leapt up, clearing ten to twenty stairs at a time and quickly came to the top. He looked around and felt the aura of the place; there was the spiritual energy that usually came with temples and shrines, but…unlike the last time he was here, it was entirely too large to belong to any of the residents of the Higurashi shrine.

Ranma stood there for a good ten seconds; the pure chi was so much in volume that it encompassed the entire area. He briefly wondered why he hadn't felt it before arriving but decided to reason that later.

He leapt up to the roof of the house, surveying the area, trying to figure out exactly where it could be coming from. He crawled over to the side where he knew Kagome's window was.

'Maybe,' he thought, 'someone with intense spiritual powers has come to heal Kagome?' It was a reasonable explanation. As it was, he did atleast want to meet whoever could hold such a large amount of spiritual chi. It was nearly as large as his own and as far as he knew monks and mikos didn't always get their power from fighting.

Ranma leaned over the roof of the house and peered into the house that led to Kagome's room. The room looked like the typical teen girl's room(Not that he lived with any typical teen girls; he could just tell) full of girly things and assorted posters. There was an old looking alarm clock and a normal looking desk with some clutter on it.

What caught his attention, however, was the small glowing jar on her desk. It was a small vial with maybe three or four pinkish jewels of some sort.

Whatever they were, they were emanating an intense and odd chi…but they were just jewels; why did they even have chi of their own? Chi only came from living things, not rocks…

Ranma slid back up to the roof, confused. Why would Kagome have something that powerful in her room? "Maybe she just thinks they're regular jewels… but what if she was attacked, and they were stolen by some whacked out martial artist or sumthin?"

There was a pause as Ranma considered all of this.

"What the hell are they?"

---

Shadow was currently leaning against a light pole, absently watching the huge crowds around him go about their daily business. Not one of the people who'd passed by all day were carriers, but he figured if he just waited the whole day and watched people that went by he'd see something, and if not, stick it out in another section of the city for another day.

It wasn't as if he had anything better to do.

---

Ryouga grunted as he pushed forward through Yamaguchi. He was making good speed today, especially considering that Fukuoka was over 50 kilometers away.

For once, things weren't going particularly bad for him; as a matter of fact, his luck had been sporadically increasing recently. He realized exactly what this meant, though.

Something big was happening. He'd noticed the trend long, long ago; whenever some impending doom or something was happening to Akane or sometimes even Ranma, his directional sense led him right towards them and he was always there in time to help save the day, then get shafted, credit wise.

Oh well, all for the greater good; such was the code of the martial artist, even those with heavy hearts.

He figured he'd be in Nerima by late afternoon if not sooner.

---

Chibi-Usa sighed as Usagi went on and on about being worried and what not. Really, it was annoying; the girl wasn't even her mother yet, so why should she feel so protective? If anything she was more like a surrogate big sister, which made her want to disregard everything she said.

"Uh-huh, Yeah," She sighed in agreement with whatever Usagi had just asked her. It usually worked whenever she wasn't listening to her "Mother."

"Are you even listening to me?" Usagi asked, annoyed. Chibi-Usa innocently looked up at her.

"Yes?"

"Oh really? What did I just say, then?" The blonde asked with more than a hint of suspicion.

"Erm…well…" The smaller girl looked around nervously. "That…it's not safe…for little girls…to go out at night?"

Usagi blinked. "Well, that doesn't change the fact that you still disobeyed me," she intoned. The smaller girl crossed her arms, turned away from her and Hmphed. "If you don't change that attitude…" Usagi growled.

"You'll what? Spank me? And get Aunty upset with you?" Usagi growled and Chibi-Usa stuck out her tongue.

"Why you little brat…" Usagi fumed. "I ought to--"

There was the beeping sound of Usagi's communicator. Actually, Chibi-Usa's was ringing too. Usagi sighed and her "Daughter" snickered as she reached into her pocket, revealing the device. She opened it and sighed at the face that showed. "What is it, Ami-chan? I was just giving Chibi-Usa a good scolding," The other girl giggled at that.

"Well, as funny as that sounds, we need you here, Sailor Moon,"

"I see," The blonde sighed. "I'll be there," She said, closing her communicator. "You stay here for now," Usagi pointedly told the pink haired girl before her. Chibi-Usa scowled at not being included in the fight. "Mama said you're grounded so that means no senshi business,"

"Whatever," the girl rolled her eyes and sat down her bed, opening some random Shounen manga. Usagi blanched at that, shook her head and left the room in a hurry.

Chibi Usa watched the door for a few seconds and then approached the window to watch Usagi leave the area. She sneered and set the manga down on her bed, then walked over to the window and opened it before climbing out and closing it. She jumped from her window sill to a tree and deftly jumped down to another.

Heh, those martial arts classes with Ranma were definitely paying off. She dusted off her hands and started walking away from the house, not once looking back.

After all, regret was caused by worry, and she obviously had nothing at all to worry about. Right?

---

Ranma had an odd feeling of Déjà vu as he put one of her shards in his pocket. He knew someone like Ku Lon would probably know what it was, but he honestly didn't feel like meeting the old ghoul today. He'd decided he was going to try and find out as much about it as he could on his own.

Unfortunately, that meant going back to Nerima was a huge no-no. The entire district would be after him in less than a second and then some.

He shrugged and jumped down off of the Higurashi household's roof. No one was home, so there was nothing worth staying for. He turned and looked at the house he'd just come from before jumping down the shrine stairs.

That was when there was an odd ringing noise.

"Huh?" He blinked as he recognized the ringing to be a phone, and turned. The pay phone hear him was ringing. "That's weird…" He approached the phone and looked around before shrugging and picking it up.

"Moshi Moshi," He said.

"Saotome," Tendo Nabiki replied. Ranma nearly dropped the phone in surprise; actually, he fumbled it several times and then caught it. "Quit acting stupid," she sighed.

"How did you know I was here?" He asked suspiciously. "Are you watching me or sumthin?"

"Yes, the city has cameras all over. Following you all morning has been quite easy, I might add. What, by the way, what were you doing in the Higurashi shrine? And you came back so soon," She said.

"They weren't home," He said. He wasn't surprised at all; using the city's cameras to follow him(or finding someone technologically competent enough to haggle into doing it) was Nabiki's style. "What did you want, and why have you been following me with the cameras?"

---

Nabiki Tendo smiled down at her new swivel laptop and switched her cell phone to the other ear so that she could hold it with her head while she typed. "Right to the point, are we, Saotome?" She asked. "Well I have a job for you. A paying job," She said. She snickered at his onscreen reaction and sighed. "Yeah, that's right. I'll be helping you earn money instead of lose it this time," She said. There was a short pause as he responded. "What kind of job? Hmm, Saotome…Tell me, have you ever been a bodyguard before? No? Well, as of tonight, you can consider yourself a professional," She smirked. "It pays five thousand an hour," She offered. There was a short pause and she smirked at his reaction again. "So you're in?"

---

Touya checked his watch as he walked down the street and sighed. There was nothing to do for the next three hours and he was bored as all he-

"Oof!"

He blinked and looked down in front of him. A pink haired girl with an odd get up was sitting down in front of him. "Watch where you're going!" The irate girl nearly yelled.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Touya knelt down and helped the girl up to her feet. "I was just distracted, that's all," he said as he looked down at her.

"Well next…time…" Chibi Usa looked up at him. "Hey, you're our neighbor, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Touya said, rubbing his head.

There was a pause as both stared at each other. A Chill passed over each of them, but for different reasons.

"E, to…"

"Uun…"

The two looked at each other. "Yeah, I guess I'll see you later…" Touya waved as he walked around her.

Chibi-usa blinked and shrugged, walking ahead on her way. She couldn't just up and tell him that one of the sailor senshi had told her to become friends with him. And she hadn't really thought of a way or reason to actu-

She froze. Chibi Usa turned around and saw that Touya had just done the same.

---

Ranma blinked in surprise as Touya and Chibi-Usa came running from around a corner. "Oi! Chibi-Usa! Touya!" he waved them over.

"Ranma," "Saotome-san,"

"What's up guys? You look like you're in a hurry or something…" He looked worried for a second. "Is something bad happening?"

"Ranma…" Chibi-Usa looked at him suspiciously. "Can't you feel that energy? It's so…huge," She asked. Touya looked down at her before turning back to Ranma.

"Oh." He nervously chuckled before reaching into his pocket. "You mean this." He held it out for them both to see. Chibi-Usa gasped and Touya seemed to be thinking something.

"Where did you get that?" Chibi-Usa asked. 'It's full of dark energy…'

"I…found it," Ranma looked around. "Do you know what this is?"

"No," Chibi-Usa shook her head. "But…"

"That thing…"

"What is it, Touya? Have you seen it before?"

"Something like it," He mumbled. Touya looked around nervously. "Hold on," Touya looked from Ranma to Chibi-Usa. "Tsukino-san, could you hold that for a second?"

She looked up at him in confusion and then looked at Ranma with a shrug. Ranma held out the jewel and she put her finger on the offered edge. Suddenly the jewel's energy changed completely and the dark purple jewel turned an almost whitish pink.

"I knew it…" He muttered. "Ranma, touch one end of it while she holds it," He commanded. Ranma, seeing part of what was happening, agreed and held one end.

"Chibi-Usa," Ranma started. "Can you put your Chi in it the way I am right now?"

The girl nodded. Ranma had shown her a little bit about Chi manipulation, saying that both she and her sister(Er, mother) had abnormally high amounts of Chi, which she herself guessed came from being a senshi. She did as he said and there was an odd feeling as Touya put a finger on the brightly glowing gem. There was a bright flash and the gem was suddenly green, glowing and emitting an odd whirring noise.

"Chaos…Control!"

There was an even brighter flash than the first as Chibi-Usa and Ranma felt and odd pulling sensation on their entire bodies before everything stopped.

Everything except for them.

Touya let go of the green jewel shard and it became pink again. Chibi Usa let go of it and it returned to the dark purple color that it had been before.

"That's weird," Ranma said. "It was that pinkish color when I first grabbed it, but after I had touched it became like this," Chibi-Usa nodded.

"That Jewel has a powerful demonic aura," Chibi-Usa said.

"And when you touched it, it was even more pure than how I found it," He told her. "Touya, do you know what's goin' on?"

"Chaos," Touya intoned.

"What do you mean?"

"Look all around us,"

Both Chibi-Usa and Ranma for the first time noticed exactly what had happened.

"Why ain't any thing movin'?" Ranma looked around.

"We stopped time. When you put in all that positive energy," Touya looked at Chibi-Usa, "And you all that negative energy," He looked at Ranma, "You created a reaction within the jewel that created a process that was similar to a Chaos Emerald,"

"Chaos Emerald?" Both repeated. Touya nodded.

"It's a gem that is the source of unlimited energy."

"But that…that's impossible!" Chibi-Usa interjected. 'Even the Ginzuisho has a limited amount of energy,' she thought. 'For there to be something this much stronger…"

Suddenly, everything around them started moving again.

"I guess it's over," Ranma said. "But huh…"

The three looked at each other, neither knowing what to say.

---

Akane blinked at Nabiki several times. "You found me a job?"

"Yeah, that's right. You get to do security at a party,"

"Pfft, I'd rather--"

"For five thousand an hour,"

"—I'd rather not miss out. When is the party?"

"Today in five hours,"

"Five HOURS? Today?" Akane looked at her sister, irritated. "You should give me more time to prepare for this kind of thing," Akane shook her head. Oh well, that's Nabiki for you… "Who's party is it? Someone I know?"

"No, an associate of mine's son is turning twenty and he wanted the best there was,"

"And naturally, you thought of m-"

"That's why Ranma's going with you," Nabiki interjected.

"WHAT! I don't need him-"

"Now now, think of it this way. You're the best girl and he's the best guy,"

"Hah," Akane snorted. "'She' is better than me, and you know it," She said bitterly.

"But Ranma thinks of himself as a boy,"

"Nabiki…"

"Come on, sis, it's 5000 an hour!" Akane's mood lightened up considerably after that reminder. "You're the only two martial artists I can –really- rely on; Ryouga gets lost too easily, Shampoo's too violent, Happosai would want more than En, Ku Lon would…who knows what. It gets way too complicated."

"I guess that makes sense," Akane nodded. "Well then, I guess I should go find Ranma and tell him,"

"That's alright, I called him and he's already on his way here."

"How'd you call Ranma?" As far as Akane knew, Ranma didn't have a cell phone…

"That's for me to know. Although, maybe I should just get him a cell phone, it'd be way easier…Hmm, with all the money we'll be making off of this, I could do a lot of stuff--"

"Tadaima," Ranma called out. He walked into the room with two unknown people behind him. "Oi, Akane, Nabiki. This is Usa-chan I was talking about earlier," Ranma said, motioning Chibi-Usa. "And this is Watanabe-san,"

Chibi Usa bowed politely while Touya just waved.

"Touya's fine. Watanabe-san makes me feel like my…brother," he shuddered.

"Ah, Ranma-Kun," Kasumi said appearing from the kitchen. "You have guests," The boy nodded.

"Un," Ranma motioned Nabiki with a casual wave. "This is Nabiki," He pointed at Kasumi. "That's Kasumi, and this," He said turning to Akane, "Is Akane…my fiancé."

"Ano… THAT's 'Usa-Chan'?"

"YES," Ranma said, annoyed.

"I…I see…" The girl blushed.

"As you can see," Ranma started, still quite annoyed. "There's no way she and I are romantically involved…"

"Well…Well…"Akane looked around nervously.

There was silence for a few moments before Chibi-Usa spoke up.

"So," Chibi-Usa said. "Ranma's told me so much about all of you. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," The girl bowed again.

"Ah," Akane stuttered.

"Well that's quite odd," Nabiki said, giving Ranma an odd look. "He's never told us anything about either of you before,"

"Ah, well yeah," Ranma said, rubbing the back of his head. "Heh heh…"

"Idiot," The pink haired girl mumbled. Touya shrugged.

"Ano, Nabiki-chan," Akane said. "This is Touya-kun, he's Ranma and My new classmate,"

"THAT Touya? The new track star of Furinkan High?" The boy chuckled nervously while Nabiki sized him up. "You wouldn't happen to be a practitioner of some obscure, never before heard of martial art, would you?"

"Er, All I practice is Karate and some Aikido. I'm just a 5th dan in both," the boy answered honestly.

"Eh?" Nabiki said, completely surprised. "That's…different," She said, shaking her head in confusion. 'I'll have to watch this one…' "Well if you have any interest in learning the advanced art, I'm sure Akane or Ranma would be willing to help. For a fee, of course," Both Ranma and Akane frowned at Nabiki.

"Uh, I dunno…my brother said not to spend so much money," The boy said, ever nervous.

"Well, since you're a friend, I'll give you a discount," Nabiki said. "You'd only be paying as much as you made if you got a simple morning job, like say, delivering newspapers…"

"Really?" Touya asked. "Well, I'll think about it," He said honestly. Nabiki inwardly cheered as him being a student of the dojo would not only bring them more income, but if he did come, and was satisfied with what Akane and Ranma taught him, tell his other friends, and maybe, just maybe, they'd get more students…

Then again, people already knew about the dojo; unfortunately, the dojo had stopped taking students so long ago that no one knew of its status anymore. She'd also have to convince her father to get back into shape and help with the dojo. Saotome-Ojisan and Nodoka-obasan as well…As soon as the three of them got back from their little vacation, That was the first thing she was going to do.

After all, she had no intention of staying in this house forever, and when she finally left high school, she was going to be paying for her university tuition…someone would have to take care of the house, and Ranma nor Akane would be home all day long the year she left.

"Right. Well, remember, Saotome, you have five hours. It's a high class party so you're going to have to go dressed up as best as you can manage," Ranma groaned. "Remember how much money it is," Ranma instantly cheered up. "Now go have fun," She turned and went up the stairs to her room.

"…She's in a good mood,"

"She's always in a good mood when there's money to be made. I'm sure we're getting shafted for our money, but she'll probably just take it out of our debts…"

---

Ryouga fished around in one of his pockets for change and finally found enough for what he was getting. He paid the vendor and waved as he walked away, clutching his meat bread. "Come back soon, Hibiki-San!" the old man called out with a smile. Ryouga laughed nervously and waved at the old man.

"I will," He assured.

Why did it seem like every city he'd been to, atleast half of the locals he'd come across knew him by name?

Oh well, it's not like it mattered. He pulled out a map and marked off with an X where he was before leaving the city limits and finding a nice, peaceful spot to rest. Right now, he was in Okayama. His projected schedule landed him at Kyoto in an about half an hour once he left.

"I wonder what everyone's doing," He sighed. "Heh, it's weird, but this speed might make one think I'd get lost as quickly as I did, like with the Kinjakan…" He shuddered, remembering how he'd somehow ended up in Moscow… "But I've been keeping a straight line this whole time, and I'm going faster than I first thought I was…" He thought about their curse and how cruel it was… "What about mother and father? Is the curse cured for them as well? I haven't seen either of them in years…" He thought. For once, thoughts of his parents brought hope instead of the usual endless despair…

Which brought up another point. His Shi Shi Hokudan had been getting weaker and weaker; and the reason for this was obvious. His depression had been going away, and whether or not it was tied into his dreams, he didn't know. He did know that his dreams were trying to convey some type of message…it was more like they were memories than dreams, really. Ryouga sat back and ate his meal while contemplating the latest dream…

-

"Status report," A young man clad in regal black armor ordered as soon as he entered the deck to the Sat-XII. His short black hair was ruffled in a way that made it obvious he didn't take very good care of it.

"Sir, main thrusters are offline and the Hyper drive has overloaded,"

"That's to be expected," the man with black armor sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "We shall set to land on Luna," He intoned. "Once we land, you and the rest of the crew may leave once I have left the ship. As a matter of fact, make it an order,"

"But sir-"

"But nothing. We can't have all of our people dying…you must go and make do with Earth; the rest of the planets have been totally and utterly destroyed and are in no condition to support life,"

"…What about you, sir?"

"I will defend the queen 'till my last breath and beyond. Such is the duty of a Knight of the Astral order," He stated with grim tones.

"…Aye, sir." There was a pause as the crew worked about. "Sir, we've made contact with Luna. The Queen is still alive and she's attempting to evacuate the palace…"

"It's much worse than I thought, then," He said. "The Queen won't abandon Luna. It's her stronghold; I know she has some plan to salvage it." The stressed out looking knight turned and left the bridge. "I'm sure they'll be glad to see me,"

-

"Satsugeki…Bukou Ken!" Yelled out a voice. There was a flurry of slashes and kicks as a single attacker slaughtered groups of men in a bizarre yet intriguing display of skill.

"You lazy bastards aren't going to get in here with that attitude," taunted a young man with long black hair. His garb was a simple black arrangement that looked comfortable and maneuverable. He hefted a fairly regal looking sword onto his shoulder and sneered. He walked over to a pile of maimed creatures and men that were invading his palace.

"You idiots can't even kill a weakly little prince like me? I'm just pampered royalty, aren't I? Ha!" He kicked one of them in the face. "You don't even comprehend what's going on, you just follow orders. Hmm,"

"We're no different from your own forces then," The injured man spat.

"I would like to say my mother treats all of her men and women with equal respect, kindness and consideration befitting a great ruler of the Moon Kingdom," He started. He calmly put his foot on the man's head and pushed down. "However, that'd be a horrendously large lie. It's true commoners like you get shafted, but that's because she and other nobles are blind to your suffering."

"And what do we get for trying to fix our problems?" the man asked rhetorically. "Swords in our guts and a boot out the door,"

"Hnn, yes. That's what you get for trying to start a revolution in this up-tight kingdom, especially as stupidly as you did. War usually solves nothing, it's all just a bunch of posturing and needless death." He pushed on the man's head with his foot. "Oh, that's right," He seemed to be remembering something. "You just insulted my mother, didn't you?" He calmly pushed down on the man's head again.

"…So did you,"

"Perhaps I should end your suffering for this insolence. Then again, allowing you a long and painful death sounds better."

"…"

"Nah, I've decided I don't like your face." With a sudden, powerful motion his foot smashed the man's skull and splattered his gore along the ground. "Hnn."

"My prince," Came a voice from the behind. "You've…You've become uncharacteristically cruel,"

"War does that to a man," the prince responded as he turned around and faced the black armored man. "Emilio."

"Where is your mother?"

"She's busy with some pond scum," the prince spat.

"…"

"Well? Let's go clear the place out," He turned around and left the room to seek out another hall.

"…" Emilio only shook his head and obediently followed.

-

Ryouga stared at the bread in his hands. His most recent dream hadn't been as good as the previous ones. He honestly hoped that they wouldn't keep on this way, or he might return to his previous state, which had been self destructive(and the knowledge of it being so made him even more depressed).

"What is all this stuff anyway? And why did it all start, even?" He dusted off his hands and stood up, ready to begin his trek to Nerima. "Hnn,"

---

The dojo was loud with feminine kiai as Chibi-usa, clad in a white dogi, sparred with Akane, in her own yellow doji, as Ranma coached and Touya watched. The two girls traded punches and kicks, until finally, Akane saw and opening and put the smaller girl on the ground in an instant.

"You're doing better," Akane said encouragingly. The girl's agility was nearly as good as Ranma's, but her strength and toughness weren't even up to par with her own. Chibi-usa weakly groaned from the ground. "Oi, Ranma, how much do you train her? She's pretty good,"

"Actually, not much," Ranma admitted. "So far, I've only shown her things and tell her to practice them."

"That was still pretty impressive," Touya added. "I don't think I could have gotten that well with just practice and basic instruction,"

"Well, look at her teacher," Ranma said pridefully.

"Ranma, Akane," Nabiki poked her head into the dojo. "You've got about an hour left until we have to leave,"

"Oi, Nabiki,"

"Hm?"

"Is it okay to bring guests?"

"As long as they're dressed for the occasion," Nabiki said, eyeing Touya and Chibi-Usa.

"Uh…do we have enough time for something like that?" Akane asked. Her own clothes had been lain out ahead of time, so all she needed to do was take a bath and get dressed.

"Oh, I think I have something just for this situation, but it's at my house,"

"Isn't your house in Juban?"

"Un," The pink haired girl called in affirmative from the ground. "But trust me, between Touya, Ranma and I, we can get there."

Ranma shifted nervously while Touya just chuckled.

"What are you talking about?" Nabiki asked with her eyes narrowed.

"Err, that's not important," Ranma said. "The thing is, we'll be there on time, don't worry." He helped Chibi-Usa to her feet. Nabiki raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"Whatever, Saotome," She said apathetically. "Akane, we don't have that much time, so it'd be better if we went and washed ourselves right now," She said. "You go ahead, I have something to get from my room," The girl left the dojo as Akane nodded and did as she was told.

"Right…I guess this means we can go now," Ranma lead Touya and Chibi-Usa out of the dojo to the front of the Tendo estate and looked around before holding his hand out. The pink haired girl mimicked him and Touya reached into his shirt before revealing the dull glow of a jewel shard. He joined hands with the other two and there was a bright flash of light as the three disappeared with a united shout of "Chaos Control!"

---

Ryouga smiled in earnest at the fleeting scenery as he almost literally flew through the skies. His lunges could carry him a good thirty kilometers at top speed, which he estimated to be well over 100 KM/h. He'd just left Nagoya, so Koufu was atleast an hour or two ahead at this point.

He could really tell that something big was going to happen when he finally landed…something huge was going to happen. He could feel it…

---

Akane's eyes bolted open as she sat in the furo next to her sister. "W…what…"

Nabiki opened one eye and looked at Akane. "Akane? What is it?"

"There was…a huge chi…just outside our house!"

"Where?"

"It was in the front of the house but then it disappeared almost as soon as it was out…"

"How big was it?"

"I'm surprised you didn't notice it, even with your limited martial arts training," Akane said in a low voice.

"Oh?" Nabiki opened both eyes. "I thought that was just me," She muttered. Then she smirked and climbed out of the furo. "Well, it's been long enough for a quick bath,"

---

Chibi-Usa walked out of her door and walked over to Touya's house where both boys had been waiting for her. She knocked twice and stood back, waiting. The door opened and Ranma walked out, looking irate.

"You said to wait for you and just put on our regular clothes when we were done in the furo. Nabiki said it was a high class party so-"

"I know, I know. Where's Touya?"

"He's inside," Ranma sighed.

"Well then, go get him," The girl waited patiently as Ranma left and shortly returned with Touya.

"Okay, let's go," Chibi-Usa said putting out her hand. Ranma and Touya followed and the three stopped time with the makeshift Chaos Emerald and Touya hid the jewel in his shirt again.

"Okay, what now?"

"Patience," Chibi-Usa smirked as she reached into one of her pockets and took out an odd looking pen.

"What's that thing?"

"Just watch,"

---

Shadow froze and turned his head in a certain direction. "Chaos Control," He thought. Had Touya already found a Chaos Emerald? If so, why was he using Chaos Control? He summoned his own from subspace and mimicked the technique, heading full speed towards where he could tell Touya was headed.

---

Akane smiled and nodded at most people as they entered the building that she and Ranma would be working together in for the night. The party's host was every bit as well-off as Nabiki had said, and all of the people coming in were as well dressed as she had thought they would be. Tuxedos and dresses she was sure cost more than she could have afforded were the norm in this get together.

"Oi, Ranma…where are you?" She looked around with concern and froze as she heard a familiar voice.

"Verily, the life of this party has arrived!" Shouted an over-eager voice from the entrance. Akane flinched and her mood fell several levels as she turned and saw the Kuno clan enter the building. What she saw surprised her; Kuno was actually dressed like a normal person while his sister donned an impressive black dress. Their father was wearing an unorthodox white tux, but oh well, it was to be expected that atleast one of them was out of the ordinary, even if in a small way.

"Ugh," She groaned as the three walked by.

"Ah! Tendo Akane!" Tatewaki exclaimed upon entering the foyer. "I truly did not expect to see you in this grand event! Surely the heavens are smiling upon me today, for I will-"

"You will," Kodachi started, grabbing her brother by the back of his tuxedo, effectively and literally reigning him in. "Refrain from your usual idiocies while we are under Cousin Yoshida's roof," she dragged him away from the girl and nodded at the Tendo girl while her father followed the two.

Akane had seen some strange things in her life, but right now she was terrified.

"…that was a pretty neat trick with the pen," Ranma's voice came from the entrance and she blinked and tried to peek over the small crowd in the foyer. When she spotted the three her jaw dropped.

Ranma's hair was out of it's braid, which accentuated his features in a way she'd only seen once. The result was a very bishounen looking male who she knew other girls would be drooling at, the kind of man in her manga that always rescued the maiden from harm with some kind just speech.

Of course, his attitude was far from that, so it was just the looks, really.

Touya was also looking very different; his impossibly long hair had somehow been shortened beyond belief, though it was cut in a way that reminded her of someone Ranma'd once fought in something called the Iron Fist tournament.

Chibi-Usa was almost completely different though. The girl's heels added a good seven and a half centimeters to her height. Her dress was crimson, and it looked to be made of a material she was sure she'd never seen before. The girl had just the right amount of makeup to go with her dress and her long hair fell around her shoulders. All in all, the fourteen year old looked a good two or three years older than she really was.

-

Ranma, Chibi-Usa and Touya walked towards the door.

"I gotta admit," Ranma started. "That was a pretty neat trick with the pen,"

"That wasn't a trick," Chibi-Usa snickered. "That was real magic,"

"You know what I mean," Ranma growled as they entered the building.

"My, but this place is huge," Touya chirped in to change the flow of conversation.

"Oi, Ranma!" Akane called from the foyer. They all walked into the room where Akane was and stopped.

"Sorry I'm late," Ranma said sincerely.

"You're not, actually," Akane informed him. "Our jobs start in an half an hour. We're not bouncers, so our job is really just to make sure no one gets a little too wild, and if they do, we have full authority to kick them out,"

"Wild?"

"Well, it's an adult party, there's gonna be booze,"

"I see," Ranma nodded.

"Well, let's all get something to eat and drink while we wait, shall we?" Touya suggested.

"That sounds good,"

-

"This is wrong," Akane complained. "We're all too young to be drinking this stuff,"

"Oh calm down," Chibi-Usa rolled her eyes. "I drink a glass of wine with all of my meals," She intoned. Akane's eyebrow rose in suspicion as she considered that.

"I think I could get to like you," came a familiar voice from behind the two. They both turned to face Nabiki. "Hey, Imouto-chan, Tsukino-san," She smiled and sauntered over to join the two. "Where're the guys?"

"They're here somewhere," Akane grumbled.

"Well, that's good I suppose," Nabiki joined the two looking over a railing from the second floor.

"Nabiki, I've been wondering," Akane started. "How could one person afford this whole place," She said, motioning the entire complex, "For just one little event?"

"Well, it's for two events, actually." Nabiki said.

"Oh?"

"Well, it's for one of my associate's twentieth birthday."

"Uh huh, and…?"

"I'm not at liberty to reveal the second one," Nabiki smirked. "Well, I was just checking up on the two of you, so if you'll excuse me…" The older girl left the two to themselves. Akane sighed and turned back to lean over the railing.

"This place is just too big," she groaned.

"I don't know what's wrong," Chibi-Usa said. "It feels homey to me,"

"What?" Akane asked, incredulously. That was something she'd expected to hear from Kuno or his equally loony sister.

"Ah, nothing," the younger girl laughed nervously. "So…"

"Hey, Tsukino-san-"

"Call me Chibi-Usa,"

"Eh?"

"That's what my friends call me. If you knew my mom you'd know why," She sighed.

"Oh, well…Chibi-Usa, how did you meet Ranma-kun?"

"Well I guess you could say he fell right into my arms," She answered.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. He fell, screaming and hollering, from the sky and right into my arms."

"You caught him?"

"And regretted it immediately," the girl nodded grimly. "I've never really been in the center of a crater in this fo-, err, before,"

"That must have been odd," Akane laughed, too nervous to have caught the other girl's mistake.

"Heh, yeah…" They both watched the people on the floor below until Chibi-Usa spotted someone. "Ano? Hey, what's she doing here?"

"Did you see someone you know?"

"Yeah, that's Usagi, my…relative," She coughed. "She's here with her fiancé. Who's that they're talking to?"

"I think that's…Kuno!" She said surprised. "Small world, I guess."

"Hahaha, you have no idea…"

"Huh?"

"Uh, err, nothing."

-

"Chiba-san, it's been such a long while since we last met," Tatewaki Kuno greeted Mamoru.

"Oh, Tatewaki," Mamoru said, blinking. "Yeah, it has been a while…How're things going for you?"

"Quite well, quite well…indeed, since last we met, I have risen above all peers in the Art and Kendo, becoming the number one fighter of my entire city, nay, country! My glorious self has even basked in the glory of His majesty the Emperor, and-"

'I forgot how much this kid likes to talk, especially about himself,' Mamoru thought to himself while smiling. When Kuno was done, he finally noticed Usagi standing beside Mamoru.

"And who is this fine maiden? Your date for the night, perhaps? But wait, for is it not considered rude for one to ask questions without introducing oneself?"

"Ano, but you just-"

"Behold, woman, for you are in the presence of the noble samurai Kuno Tatewaki, Blue Thunder of Japan!" There was a blue flash and one could see Kuno in his samurai garb, holding his bokken high above his head. The illusion faded, leaving Kuno standing in his tuxedo with his arm raised above his head.

"Ano…" Usagi bent over to Mamoru and whispered, "How did he do that?"

"I have no idea…" Mamoru stood up and gestured towards Usagi. "Ano, Tatewaki, this is my fiancé, Tsukino Usagi," Mamoru introduced his iinazuke and Usagi bowed.

"It is a pleasure to be meeting you for the first time," She said. Kuno bowed back just as deeply.

"As it is for me, your majesty…"

"Huh?" Usagi faltered.

"You must excuse me," Kuno said, returning to his upright position. "As much as it would delight me to bask in your presence, I have my own duties I must attend to," He said, turning away.

"Wait, what did you mean…just now?"

"Excuse me?" Kuno said.

"You just called me majesty," The blonde girl whispered. Mamoru looked as surprised as she did.

"You must be mistaken, for I do not remembering doing such a thing," Kuno waved it off as he left them to themselves.

-

"Your friend is weird," Chibi-usa said as she and Akane watched Kuno leave the couple behind. "He talks too much too."

"Yeah," Akane said, shaking her head. "His whole family is nuts."

-

"Ranma, what do you think the girls are doing?"

"I dunno," Ranma took a swig from his half empty bottle. "This cheap stuff is actually pretty good," he swirled the bottle around several times.

"I didn't know you liked alcohol," Touya said.

"I don't."

"Then what do you mean?"

"I mean that this stuff, among all the other crap I've been forced to drink, ain't quite as bad,"

"…Why are you drinking it?"

"I have to keep up appearances. According to most everyone here, I'm just another rich guy here for the party. If I walk around sporting a badge and a hat, no one'd give me a break, and besides, it'd just look dumb."

"I see," Touya said, understanding on his face.

There was silence for a good thirty seconds.

"So…"

"Yeah…"

---

Ryouga sat down right outside of Koufu. "I should take a break," He thought aloud. "My chi is drained, almost completely," he took took his pack off of his shoulders and sat down against a rock, ready to doze off from the lack of energy.

Within moments he was out.

-

"My prince, your swordsmanship is flawless as always," The black armor clad man called out to his young companion.

"I would thank you for noticing, but this is neither the time nor place," the young man deftly dodged and sliced in one smooth motion. "We're in the middle of-" and suddenly the prince was still. The man clad in black armor took a step back in shock and turned his head in a random direction.

"What…what in Serenity's name was that!"

"That was my mother," The prince said in a calm voice.

"So…she's still alive," the man in black armor sighed. "But that means she's fighting…this is not good, something that could make it to the queen…"

"I know. This is very bad." The prince sighed. "Emilio, come here." The man in black armor blinked and obeyed immediately. "Do you trust me?"

"With my life-"

"Good," The prince said. "Then you must know what I'm about to do to you is in the best interest of the kingdom,"

"Huh? Dai…I don't understand…"

"You don't need to," the prince said, suddenly turning and embedding his blade into the heart of his comrade. He began chanting something and the sword glowed with lunar energy as he wove his spell.

"M…my prince," the man coughed. "I must apologize… but I fail to see how this helps the kingdom,"

"Don't worry, you will one day. Try to hang on for as long as you can, if you die before the spell is complete you won't…"

"I'm sorry my prince…I can't hear you…" the man's heart had stopped already and he was quickly dying.

"No! Dammit! Hold on just one second…"

"Ugh…"

"…There! Emilio, you can…"

-

Ryouga woke with a start and clutched his chest. He lifted his shirt and felt the area where he knew his heart to be.

"I'm alive," He panted. "But…"

"But I definitely felt his sword in my chest…"

---

Shadow simply walked into the building, glaring at anyone who even bothered to look at him and his style of dress…

"Why the hell would Sonic be here? This is not his style at all," he muttered. "Perhaps I am in the wrong place, after all." The man with black hair and red highlights decided to take a tour around the building. The party did look rather impressive, and while it wasn't Touya's style, he wasn't going to go out and look for the boy now.

-

"Cousin!" Tatewaki turned and his eyebrows rose.

"Oh," He said. "You must excuse me, ladies. The time hath come for me to rendezvous with my honorable cousin," he nodded and left the two girls he had been talking to. He approached a young man and girl. "Verily, the guest of honor hath arrived," Kuno said.

"Aye, he has," the young girl said.

"Ah, Kagome-chan, my younger cousin from mother's side. It does me good to see you well,"

"And me you," The younger girl bowed.

"Ano," the young man started. "Why are the both of you speaking like that?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry," Kagome blushed "Shinshige-kun, Tatewaki-kun, how long has it been?"

"It was three years since last we met, cousin,"

"Indeed, it is as I remember-"

"Okay, both of you stop, please," Shinshige said. "Please, for my twentieth, I'd like to have the both of you and your families acting as normal as possible,"

"I'm so sorry," the girl blushed again. "I just got used to talking that way because of a hobby of mine…"

"This hobby of yours, does it involve poetry?"

"No, actually," Kagome said. "Although at times I wish it was something that tame," She said.

"Is it violent? Dear cousin, have you finally decided to take up martial arts?"

"Kuno…"

"Okay, okay," Kuno said. "But only because it's your twentieth. If it were any other day, and you were any other person…"

"Yeah, I get it," Shinshige rolled his eyes.

"So, Shin-kun, how's it been up in Fukuoka?"

"You'd never believe it, but you remember that UFO? Apparently the thing landed right outside of Fukuoka,"

"So the media is still…"

"You know it," Shinshige sighed. Kuno scoffed.

"What a joke. Everyone knows there's no such thing as aliens,"

"Well, that's the thing. Several eyewitnesses, people I know who would never lie, have claimed to see the crater. People were later sent to investigate but the crater was gone. And that's not the odd thing, the dirt and grass that there is slightly different from what's around it, so there are suspicions of a coverup,"

"Really? That's intriguing," Kuno said, rubbing a chin. "Although, I guess the whole conspiracy thing has been done before. Kagome, your thoughts?"

"Huh? Aliens?" the girl looked up. "Oh, well I suppose if demons and the like are real, it's possible for aliens to exist as well," She nodded.

"…Does that have to do with your new hobby?" Shinshige asked.

"Huh? You mean demons? Ah, well my hobby…it's archery," She said.

"Archery? You'll have to show me sometime," Kuno said.

"And you'll have to show us both just how much you gotten better with that sword of yours," Shinshige teased.

"Don't worry, I will, before you leave. Kagome-chan will have to show us her miko powers as well, though."

"Huh?" Kagome asked, surprised. "But I didn't' tell you guys that I'd…"

"Yes, but I can tell. Your Chi is far too pure to not have holy ties," Kuno informed her as someone came up to Shinshige and whispered something into his ears.

"Huh? There's a weird guy outside dressed in all red with silver hair?"

"Ah…I see," the girl blinked. "Well, excuse me, but I need to find the bathroom. We should get together sometime tomorrow; I don't think my mother will permit me to stay for the entire duration of this party,"

"Ah, that is understandable. You are still but a year away from highschool, not quite an adult," Kuno said, ruffling her hair. When Kagome left, he put his hand on his cousin's shoulder. "You must excuse me as well, cousin, for I have a thirst to quench," he turned and strode out, holding the hilt to his bokken as if he was on duty or something.

Shinshige was left standing there. "Man, what a weird family I've got," He muttered.

-

"Inuyasha, what are you doing here?" Growled Kagome as she peeked out of a second floor window.

"I'm here to take you back, you stupid bitch-"

"Osuwari," The girl said calmly. Inuyasha's necklace glowed with a holy light as the curse pulled him down from his perch on a tree towards the ground at full speed. She could hear him groaning from the ground and thirty seconds later, he was back up, angry as ever.

"What'd you do that for, you dumb-"

"Inuyasha, would you just let me EXPLAIN why I am still here?" the girl asked. Her aura was showing her face had quite the fearsome look on it.

"…Okay," He said, looking a little nervous.

"Good," She started. "First off, it's my cousin's twentieth birthday. The day he becomes a man. You might not know it because you've never met him before, but he and I are very close. He moved to Fukuoka three years ago and I've only been able to send letters and call him from time to time. Now…" the girl sighed, "The second reason is…one of my jewel shards was stolen," She said.

"What! We have to find it right away, you've got no time to be lounging around here-!"

"You dope, don't you think I have my priorities straight?" She asked, irritated. "I know what comes first, baka. Jewel shards, duh. But oddly enough, the shard that was stolen is somewhere in here."

"…Huh."

"Yeah, I know, that's really weird."

"Do you think your cousin…?" Inuyasha started.

"No," the girl shook her head. "He hasn't been to my house since he moved to Fukuoka, and I was just talking to him. He didn't have it."

"I see,"

"If you had come to my house earlier, you'd have been able to rent a tuxedo and get ready properly enough to be in here, but the way you're dressed…" She sniffed the air and scrunched up her face. "And the way you smell right now you'd stick out like a sore thumb and security would toss you out," She said.

"Hah, like some dumb humans could ever 'toss' me anywhere," The hanyou snorted indignantly.

"Osuwari," She stated simply.

"AGH!"

-

Ranma frowned and rubbed his head while overlooking the crowds from the railing on the second floor. "It all adds up now…All that chaos that HASN'T come my way; my curse not summoning ungodly amounts of water all day long, and me, finally getting a paying job. Everything looks like it's going well but in reality it's all building up. Something big is happening tonight," He said.

"What was that?" Touya asked, looking up from a bottle of fermented rice wine.

"I said, something big-" There was a scream from the ground floor. "is happening." He sighed. "C'mon, let's go. We need to change into better suited clothes for something this big,"

-

Usagi and Mamoru turned towards the source of the commotion and gasped. "There's a huge shadow in the ground…with an arm sticking out?" Nearby, a young man was complaining.

"Of course, this would have to happen at MY twentieth birthday," Shinshige sighed and ran with the flow of people escaping.

"Come on, we need to find a place," Usagi said, pulling her companion's arm. He quickly began following on his own.

-

"Inuyasha, that's our cue," Kagome said, looking over her shoulder.

"Yeah, I can smell it," Inuyasha climbed in through the window. "Blegh, and what a stench it is."

-

"Akane-san, don't you think we should find Ranma and get out of here?" The small, pink haired girl asked.

"Chances are Ranma's going to stay and fight, and since I'm the only person up to par with him around here, I've got to help him. Chibi-usa, I know you're a martial artist too, but as your sempai, I'm telling you to get out of here."

"But-"

"No buts," The older girl smiled confidently. "Trust me, Ranma has handled things like this before. Now go," She said, running towards the stairs. "And don't worry! We'll be safe!"

"…I can't just leave them here like this," She said. "I've got to transform and help them…even if they do recognize me, it's not worth them dying!"

-

Ranma jumped down off of the railing with Touya right behind, flexing his muscles. That restrictive tuxedo hadn't been his taste at all. He stretched some before approaching the monster. It was a huge, atleast two meter tall, green, human shaped creature with huge black eyes, rows and rows of sharp teeth. In place of it's fingers were impossibly long razor sharp claws and it's legs were bent backwards.

"Hey, ugly," Ranma said, getting it's attention. "Why don't you go somewhere else? You're not wanted here."

"I desire…your soul fire…"

"What?"

"Your soul fire is great…It will serve my master well," the creature's monotonous voice was starting to annoy him.

"Well, I dunno about that 'soul fire' you want so much, but if you want it, you'll have to take it from my dyin' stiff fingers," He taunted. 'I think I said that right,'

"And so I will," It said, holding up one of it's claws. "Come, Amethyst!" A dark purple crystal spire rose up from the ground beside it and immediately began spilling out a dark fog.

"What the heck's that stuff?" Ranma said. "It feels so…wrong,"

"It does not matter, for in a few seconds, you will be too dead to care."

"Try me!" Ranma held up his fists in a stance and the creature laughed.

"Simple human, you can not hope to stand against a denizen of Niflheim!" Ranma rolled his eyes and jumped in the air, preparing to fire his trademark Chi blast.

"Verily, the Blue thunder makes his presence known!" Cried out Tatewaki Kuno as he ran out from a hall, clad in his usual samurai garb, swinging his wooden sword like crazy. "I strike thee down, demon!"

"Oi, Kuno, this is convenient," Ranma said. Even though Kuno could be annoying at times, Ranma knew he could count on him to choose the greater of two evils at this moment. "I guess I didn't notice you because you weren't wearin' your usual stuff,"

"Indeed, Sorcerer, for my cousin, the man whom this party was organized for, insisted that I fit in as much as possible. Now, however, that is not an option!"

"Two humans with great soul fire, will still not be enough to stop me,"

"SANKON TETSUSOU!" Cried out an unfamiliar voice. The demonic creature in question jumped back just in time to dodge a man donning an old fashioned red costume. "Dammit, I missed," The hanyou spat as he unsheathed and transformed the demon fang Tetsusaiga.

"Inuyasha, try not to demolish the place!" Called out a voice from above. Ranma and Kuno turned up to the familiar voice and blinked.

"Kagome?" Both said. They turned to each other.

"You know her?" They blinked again.

"Whatever, you dummy!" Inuyasha said as he brace himself for the demon to attack again. "You two are just humans, so you should butt out," He said arrogantly to Kuno and Ranma.

"Just humans?" Ranma asked angrily. "What does that make you!"

"Demon, I'll have you know that the righteous blade of Kuno has slain-"

"SHUT UP AND FIGHT IF YOU'RE GONNA HELP!" Inuyasha lunged at the green creature then suddenly stopped. "Hey, what's that sound?"

"What sound?"

"I don't hear anything."

"Indeed, that is a most unsettling sound…" The green creature looked up. The ceiling was at least ten stories up, but the entire thing was a dome of glass. Inuyasha also looked up.

"Whatever it is, it's incoming fast-" Inuyasha said, jumping backwards.

"Huh? What are you two talking ab…hey, what IS that sound?" Ranma and Kuno both looked up as they both registered the sound of something falling towards them at great speed.

"RANMA! PREPARE YOURSELF FOR THE GREAT BEYOND!" Cried out a familiar voice.

"Oh SHIT-" Ranma jumped even further away, while Kuno and Inuyasha, thinking Ranma knew what was happening, followed his example.

The green creature was left standing there as suddenly, the glass broke inwards.

-

One second after the glass broke, Hibiki Ryouga had already fallen an entire story. In the next second, he was foot-to-face with the green creature. In the next second, there was a crater that looked entirely too large that anything inside would have survived.

Remarkably, one Hibiki Ryouga and one green demonic creature were both okay, although Ryouga was standing on the latter.

-

"Err…"

"Do your friends normally fall out of the sky?" Inuyasha asked Ranma with a weirded out look on his face.

"Sometimes…I've done it myself before," He muttered.

"Is it fun or something?" Inuyasha asked.

"Only if you're doing it on purpose," Ryouga jumped out of the crater and landed in front of Ranma. "Ranma, what the hell did I just land on?"

"You landed on a weird demon thing," Akane said, walking from behind the shadows.

"You are starting to anger me with all of your petty attacks," The green creature growled, crawling out of its little hole.

"And it's still okay?" Ryouga asked incredulously as he turned around to face it. He tossed his pack aside and held out his umbrella, before looking around. "I think we're all competent enough to get it, though."

-

"Wow," Sailor Chibi-Moon said as she watched Inuyasha, Kuno, Ryouga, Ranma, and even Akane take on the green demon creature. They didn't seem to be very well coordinated, but even still they were pressing on an attack that she knew even the senshi would be hard pressed to defeat. "I don't think I'm really needed here, then," She said, turning away to leave.

"Enough is ENOUGH!" Cried out an aggravated denizen of Niflheim.

-

The green creature flexed and slammed the ground with a hammer fist. The resulting was an explosion of energy that knocked back all of his attackers. "You impudent humans will get a taste of true power tonight-"

"Demon! Interrupting this tasteful party and attacking those who would stop your vile acts is despicable and evil! In the name of justice-"

"SAILOR CHIBI-MOON!" Cried out an Irate voice. "WHAT THE _HELL_ ARE YOU DOING HERE!"

"Ugh," The demon muttered, putting a hand to his head. "Not more of this crap…"

-

"Um," Sailor Chibi-Moon blinked. "I'm stopping this creature from killing those nice people down there,"

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT BULL! I TOLD YOU TO STAY HOME!"

"Um, Sailor Moon," Said a man clad in a tuxedo. "Perhaps it would behoove us to allow her assistance in the destruction of this abomination,"

"ABOMINATION?" Cried out the demon.

"Maybe you're right," Sailor Moon sighed. "Young lady, when we get home-" Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen both jumped to different sides in order to dodge the green creature.

"YOU ALL TALK TOO MUCH! WHAT IS THIS, SOME KIND OF SOAP OPERA? I CAME HERE FOR SOUL FIRE, NOT A DAMN-"

"KAZE NO KIZU!" A large ground hugging projectile was launched from Inuyasha's great fang as he slammed it to the ground and it impacted the demon. The demon put up its arms and a transparent green shield came up in it's defense.

"MOON GORGEOUS MEDITATION!" Chibi-usa used her own wand to perform a weaker version of one of Sailor Moon's attacks. The creature in question merely shrugged it off, however.

"Hmph, all of your attacks are like the kicks of a baby,"

Ryouga growled at that comment. "Why you…"

"Here!" A blue blur streaked over to Ranma. "Hey, I've got something that will help us- Whoah!" Touya tripped over Kuno's barely conscious body and dropped what was in his hands.

"That's…" Inuyasha spotted the tiny green shard flying through the air. He instantly launched towards it but was too late.

The tiny green shard flew at Ranma, at the speed Touya'd been going and lodged right into his neck.

"Ow! It's in my neck- AH!" Ranma suddenly fell to the ground as a dark purple aura over took his body. "AUGH! AHHHHHHHH!" His body moved violently as the now dark purple shard's demonic aura influenced it.

"I picked the wrong day," Grumbled the un-named demonic creature.

"What the hell's happening to him?" Ryouga asked. "What was that little thing?"

"It was a shard of the Shikon no Tama," Inuyasha supplied. "But he's a human, it shouldn't have done anything to him…Why would he have so much negative energy?"

"Jewel of four souls?" Akane asked. "This doesn't make any sense?"

And suddenly, Ranma's flailing stopped.

"Would anyone tell me what's going on?" Sailor Moon interjected as she joined the group.

"I thought we were all supposed to be fighting," The greenish creature sighed and shook it's head. "But your guess is as good as mine."

Ranma stood up.

"Is he okay?"

"He…He's projecting Youki!"

"A demonic aura? What could that mean?"

Ranma was suddenly standing behind the green creature. Everyone turned to look at him, in confusion at his sudden, drastic increase in speed. His Youki flared and he turned his head. His eyes were a bright red with dark blue pupils and he had fangs sticking out of his mouth. He raised a clawed hand and the green creature finally turned to attack him.

"This is much better," The creature said. "Now we can finish this."

"No way…His eyes are red," Inuyasha mumbled. "It's just as I thought,"

"Satsugeki…" Ranma whispered.

"What's he doing?"

"Oh no…" Ryouga took a step back. "It's about to get bloody…"

"…Bukou Ken."


	4. Jade Stone

Disclaimer: None of the series, characters, or locations mentioned in this story are owned by the author of this story unless stated otherwise.

---

This chapter didn't necessarily turn out the way I imagined it would, but I really can't think of anything else to change. Seeing as how I wrote this entire chapter on Ranma, next one will probably include parts on all the characters I've been shafting lately. I'll be updating my profile soon to include information on all of the Anime/Manga featured in any of my stories, so look for that.

---

"Satsugeki…Bukou Ken." Ranma kicked the in one of it's leg joints and followed up with a round house, immediately going into an uppercut then following into the air, floating as he landed three more blows before spiking it down with a crescent kick and then landing on it with his knee. He bounced into the air and stood only for a second to effortlessly pick the thing up with a single hand before knife handing the thing's solar plexus.

His arm went right through its tough, lime-green hide before he intercepted its spine. He took a hold of it and crushed what was in his hands, the creature howled an inhuman cry as its life bled away. The blood, a thick sickening purple gunk fell onto the floor and released a purple smoke as well as an odd sound.

"That thing's blood is eating away the floor…" Chibi-Usa muttered.

"But Ranma's still fine even though that stuff is all over him," Akane mentioned.

"Look at his clothes. His shirt's almost all gone and his pants are all torn up. Shouldn't he be dead? How did he do all that when it was all we could do to make that thing laugh?" Ryouga spoke up.

"He's not human right now," Inuyasha explained. "The Shikon no Kakera somehow managed to wakeup some latent, long distant demonic heritage in him. In essence, he's possessed. We need to get that shard away from him."

"Shikon no Kakera?" Everyone looked at Inuyasha.

"It's a jewel that can enhance your strength ten times over, but it has a tendency of driving people, especially demons or those of demonic descent to insanity. Just trust me about this, he's coming this way!" Inuyasha hefted up his Tetsusaiga as Ranma approached the group. "Hey you! Give me the shard!"

"Hm?" Ranma raised an eyebrow before pointing at his back. "You mean this?" He sneered. "No, I rather like it."

"Dammit," Inuyasha growled. He cracked his knuckles and sheathed the Tetsusaiga. 'He's just a possessed human. I can't kill him,' He thought bitterly. 'But I can sure as hell rough him up.' Inuyasha smirked at Ranma and leapt at him. "SANKON TESSOU!" Ranma dodged the attack with ease and countered with a swift fist to the gut, sending Inuyasha flying back into a column.

"Feh. Is that all you've got, hanyou?" He sneered.

"Half-Demon?" Everyone looked at Inuyasha with a confused look on their faces.

"You bastard," Inuyasha grunted as he stood up and assed his opponent again. Ryouga turned to Ranma and frowned.

'Ranma with demonic powers isn't something I ever thought I'd face.' He narrowed his eyes and jumped at Ranma from behind with a green Chi Blast at the ready. Ranma raised a brow at the boy and jumped backwards just as Ryouga got close. Surprised, Ryouga fumbled mid attack, as he had expected Ranma to dodge, and was completely unprepared for the kick to his ribs.

Ryouga flew a good few meters before falling to the floor and skidding. He slowly rose, groaning in pain. 'Damn, what the hell just hit me! It's like my Bakusai Tenketsu training was all for nothing!'

Chibi-usa watched as Ranma surveyed the group. Strategically, they weren't a good group to begin with; almost none of them knew eachother each other, let alone worked together ever before, so coordinating an attack would be nigh-impossible. If things were as the Hanyou was saying and Ranma was indeed possessed, then if she could use her "Moon Healing Escalation" chances were he would be purged of whatever had him.

She was sure her mother had reached the same conclusion, but such a long, drawn out attack would be easily dodged and countered before they were even finished. 'If I yell out my plan to everyone, he'll know what to expect, and if I don't tell them, I can't really expect them to distract him the way I'd like them to,' She cursed under her breath and decided to wait for an opportunity to strike.

"So the knave shows his true form!" Kuno's sudden outburst shocked almost everyone in the building. "And as such, I'll respond in kind!" Kuno's next move surprised everyone there. He struck horizontally with his bokken, sending a vacuum of air flying straight at Ranma. Ranma leapt over the attack and dodged several more.

"Shi Shi Hokudan!" Ryouga's shout brought most people out of their stupor as another fighter began launching projectiles at the boy.

"Sankon Tessou!" Inuyasha joined in the barrage of attacks that Ranma was dodging.

"Heh," Ranma charged his palm with a white ball of chi and leapt at Kuno, dodging several more attacks on the way. He slammed his ki-empowered fist into the ground a good two meters away and the resulting explosion knocked the kendoist off of his feet. Ranma smirked and was about to jump again when he felt a sudden burst of energy from he side.

He turned towards Chibi-Moon in time to dodge a large magical wave of energy. "There's no way in hell I can let that hit me-" Ranma suddenly felt the same wave coming from behind him and somersaulted just as another attack crashed into the ground where he'd been standing. He noticed Sailor Moon standing at its origin and scowled. There was no way he could let two people with that kind of attack run around.

He fell down towards her with two Chi blasts at the ready and combined the two and shot off a larger blast. Usagi's eyes bulged as the attack neared, but after a sudden blue blur, she disappeared.

"Eh?" Ranma frowned as his blast impacted nothing but solid ground. He had to shift his position in the air as the same blue blur passed through. "What the hell is that?" He finally landed and had to jump again to dodge Inuyasha's next attack.

"Dammit," Inuyasha muttered as he put a hand on the Tetsusaiga. 'He's toying with us for the most part,' He unsheathed the raggedy blade and it transformed instantly. 'I don't care if he is a human, he's definitely powerful enough to withstand a kaze no kizu and still live,' Inuyasha smirked as the familiar vortex surrounded his blade.

"Hey jackass!" Ranma turned to Inuyasha and smirked.

"So you're getting serious, hanyou? What a surprise," Ranma stared at the Inu-hanyou's sword for a second before grinning. "I see, attacks based on wind," He said. "You'll be easy to take care of with an attack like that,"

"Yeah, well we'll see about that," Inuyasha smirked back as he held up his sword and slammed it into the ground, sending several powerful ground-hugging projectiles towards Ranma. Ranma simply jumped over them, noting their power was nothing to laugh at.

'Heh, the vortex around his sword is strongest when he fires off that attack,' Ranma's smirk only got bigger as he made his way towards the hanyou.

Ryouga sighed as he watched Ranma approach the hanyou, dodging the half-demon's attacks. Inuyasha seemed to suspect something was up and began moving when Ranma got closer. "I can't do anything," He said. "None of my attacks have been hurting him at all. He just shrugs them off…no, he doesn't even seem to be noticing…" The boy looked at his hands with despair. "A single kick from him was enough to bruise me that way…" The boy clenched his fists, as a slight greenish glow surrounded him. "It's futile…no matter what I do, this boy…no, man…is always ten steps ahead of me." The glow extended further and his aura could be visually seen now.

Sailor Chibi Moon and Sailor Moon had to turn to watch as the sudden onslaught of depressed chi rolled off of the unfamiliar boy in waves.

'That can't be healthy,' Chibi moon thought to herself as she watched. 'But whatever we can use to stop Ranma right now,' She sighed as she turned towards Ranma. If she or Sailor moon used their healing powers right now, it might obliterate the half-demon who was fighting on their side as well, and they could both tell in this fight that no allies were expendable (And neither had it in them to kill someone who hadn't yet done anything wrong.)

Inuyasha was thoroughly confused (read: angry) as his current enemy approached him. 'What's he laughin' about!' The snarl on his face was enough to make his current foe laugh even more. "Hey, moron, would you mind tellin' me what's so funny?"

"Hmm, alright," Ranma said, stopping on a railing above the first floor. "But first, let me ask you; what's it feel like having your own attack used against you?"

"What?" Inuyasha snarled. 'There's no way he could use the Wind Scar…' He smirked and held up the Tetsusaiga again, preparing to use the Kaze no Kizu. "You think you can scare me with your bullshit claims?"

"Well let's see," Ranma said, jumping towards Inuyasha. Inuyasha's eyes went wide in surprise and before he could react, the boy threw a punch that stopped no more than a centimeter short of the tip of Tetsusaiga. Inuyasha watched in confusion as Ranma jumped back.

"What the hell was that?" Inuyasha asked, shaking his head. "You must be the dumbest human ever." He hefted the Tetsusaiga over his shoulder and and turned towards Ranma with a sneer.

"Let's test my theory, then. Try that technique of yours now," Ranma said in a laughing voice.

"With pleasure!" Inuyasha snarled and slammed his huge fang onto the ground to create the effect of the Wind Scar. Almost instantly, there was an explosion and the vortex flowing around his Tetsusaiga expanded into a horizontal funnel of wind that cut both ways. The funnel expanded in both directions that the sword was pointing, meaning that even its wielder was enveloped. Ranma merely jumped over the funnel and smirked as he watch the funnel cut through parts of the building.

When it was over, Inuyasha had been thrown by the wind through one of the walls, and a glimpse at him told everyone the hanyou was unconscious and looking much worse for the wear.

"Looks like it hurts." Ranma turned around and smiled, cracking his knuckles. "Who's next-!" He suddenly jumped, dodging two beams of pure energy. "I guess that means you!" Ranma seemingly flew at the two whose eyes widened in surprise.

"SAILOR MOON!" Called out a concerned voice. It was in vain, however, as neither Sailor Moon nor Chibi Moon had the reflexes to dodge the insanely fast Ranma.

-

"Dammit!" Tuxedo Kamen fell to the ground and slammed his fist into it as Ranma's fists slammed into the two Senshi. "Is there nothing I can do?" He growled. "The Senshi have so much power," He shook his head. "Yet all I can do is distract foes…" He clenched his fists. "Wasn't there anything the old Endymion could do? It always comes back to this. I'm always so useless…"

Elsewhere, watching from the shadows, another person was yet echoing his thoughts.

"Ranma always is the one everyone can count on to help them," Akane said sadly as she watched her fiancé demolish any opposition. Every single person there was many times stronger than she. "But now, when he needs us to help him defeat someone, no one can step up to the task…"

"It is indeed a depressing thought," Said a familiar voice from nearby. Akane looked up in surprise.

"Kuno? I thought you were fighting?"

"Indeed, it was so…but he is obviously too strong for me as I am now, and even if it is only through demonic possession, it is something I can not ignore. Besides, we're not the only ones with depressing thoughts at this moment," The young man nodded in Ryouga's direction.

"Ryouga's going to use a perfect Shishi Hokudan," She noted.

"That is indeed what it appears to be," Kuno said. "However…Look. He has already passed the point necessary to use that technique." Akane blinked as she noticed he was right. Never before had Ryouga's aura expanded so much around him. The energy of his depression was also far more severe than she had ever felt.

"That must be why I feel this way. His aura is so powerful, no one weaker than him can resist feeling depressed." Kuno only nodded.

-

"And that's that," Ranma snickered as stood over the unconscious, bruised and battered bodies of two sailor Senshi. He started looking around. "I hear some whispering-" He suddenly jumped back as a blue blur slammed into the ground before him. He narrowed his eyes and trailed the thing moving at super sonic speeds.

"Heh, whatever you are, such a pathetic attack can't hurt me," He said loudly.

Touya narrowed his eyes as he moved around the room, not stopping once. 'He doesn't seem to know who I am.' He bounced off one of the columns and flew at Ranma with a foot extended in a kick. His eyes widened as Ranma matched him in speed and turned to catch him.

"Hello, friend," Ranma said before slamming the boy into the ground by his leg. Without letting go of his leg, he span around several times and tossed the boy into a column. Touya instinctively rolled into a fetal position, and Ranma could only watch in confusion, as Touya's already impossibly long hair seemed to grow and expand around him like some kind of spiky barrier.

The boy crashed through the pillar and rolled until hitting a flat wall. He instantly jumped up, and his hair returned to normal and he flipped until he righted himself. 'Dammit, if only I had some sort of projectile attack, I could formulate a better plan!' He cursed and blinked as he noticed Ranma's sudden blanch. Ranma turned away from Touya, and Touya took advantage of the boy's distraction.

"Hien Ren Kyaku!" The boy ran at Ranma full speed and leapt into a chain of kicks.

Ranma caught him with one hand by the foot and used his own momentum to spin around halfway and toss him. Touya's eyes bugged as he flew through a wall and out of the building.

Ranma caught sight of Ryouga. "How could I have ignored that for so long!" He growled and watched as Ryouga stood, legs spread and eyes closed as a huge green fire burned around him. Before Ranma could react, however, the green fire condensed to a barely visible glow. Ryouga's eyes opened and they were glowing a bright green. The light extended and spilled from his eyes, floating upwards as it escaped his body.

-

'It's over for me,' Ryouga thought, his eyes closed. 'I'm going to die here, like I did all those years ago…having accomplished nothing, as well as letting millions…no, billions die.' He opened his eyes and continued looking at the ground, doing his best to suppress an anguished scream.

"Junsei Teisuu…" He held up his hand, "ShiShi…" He slowly looked up as he continued saying the name of his attack. "Hokudan." His eyes met with Ranma's as a sudden long beam of green light emitted from his palm in a continuous stream of energy. Ranma's eyebrows rose and he smiled.

-

"Finally, an opponent worth my time," He said as he held up one hand. There was a great explosion of power as the green stream of energy continuously fed into a pure white barrier around Ranma. Just then, another large beam of energy began impacting the barrier. Ranma grunted as he noticed the two Sailor Senshi pouring all of their magical energy into a single spell, and that the attack itself was much stronger than their previous ones. "This could be troublesome," He muttered as both beams chipped away at his barrier.

"Bakuryuha!" Inuyasha's voice cried out and he sliced at the air in a way that was different from before. Ranma blanched as, instead of just a Kaze no Kizu, a much stronger attack began forming all around him. Several funnels of wind much stronger than the one he'd used against Inuyasha began tearing at his barrier along with the other beams of energy.

"What the hell?" Ranma narrowed his eyes and fed more power into his barrier that he could feel rapidly fading. "All of this and you bastards still can't beat me? How pathetic," He said in the most condescending tone he could manage from his position.

"Chaos Spear." There was a calm, unfamiliar voice, and a sudden, great explosion of orange energy and Ranma was overwhelmed almost instantly.

"What…" was all he could manage before the attacks all converged on him and all he knew was darkness.

-

"Hah…heh…" Ryouga panted as he stopped feeding his attack with his Chi and watched as all of the other attacks subsided. "I don't think anyone saw that coming," He said as he sat down where he was. A girl approached Ranma's unconscious body and easily removed the jewel from his back. Ryouga sighed in relief as he could sense the previously evil, dark Jewel was suddenly and completely purified at her touch.

-

"This is bad," Kagome said as she stood over Ranma's unconscious body. "The jewel isn't in him anymore, but its influence hasn't left,"

"You mean he'll still be the same way when he wakes?" Akane had approached the girl when she realized it was safe.

"Not unless we somehow purify him, and I don't think I can do purification on that level," Kagome confessed.

"Leave that to us," Sailor Moon said as she limped over to the boy with Chibi Moon in tow.

-

Ryouga watched the colorful display with disinterest. He looked around and noticed all of the destruction around them. "Hey…doesn't look like this building is going to last much longer…" He noticed. When rubble suddenly started falling from the ceiling, he nodded. "Hey! We have to get out of here! This place is collapsing!"

-

"Eh?" Akane blinked at Ryouga's shout and noticed the rubble. "He's right! We have to get out, now!" Not waiting for anyone else, picked up Ranma, but instantly dropped him and screamed as a gelatinous, black substance started pouring out of his mouth.

The black stuff sped across the ground towards an odd crystal that was stuck in the ground. "Hey, that's the crystal that the first demon had brought with it," She watched as it slowly sank back into the ground.

"Hey, come on!" Sailor-Chibi moon called from a large hole in the wall that led outside. A large piece of rubble landed no more than half a meter from her and she grabbed Ranma and ran out.

-

Akane sighed as she watched the building crumble and fall on itself. It had been a huge building, but as it's base was destroyed, the whole thing had no choice but to obey physics and collapse in on itself.

She looked at the two Senshi and counted to see everyone who was there. Kagome was there, Kagome's white haired companion was also there, looking quite beat-up, Ryouga was sitting next to Kuno, and the two sailor Senshi were being tended to by a concerned sounding Tuxedo Kamen. Touya was tending to one of his ankles and there was an unfamiliar black-haired man who bore a great resemblance to Touya standing behind him.

"Ugh," Ranma coughed and Akane looked at him. "I feel so weak…what the heck happened?" He finally opened his eyes and noticed the group. "Why was I unconscious? The last thing I remember is that weird demon creature…"

"We beat him, Ranma," Akane said. "He roughed everyone up pretty bad, but in the end our combined attacks were too much,"

"Why was I out, though? I should have been…helping…"

"He got a cheap shot on you while you weren't looking, It's not your fault," she said.

"Hey…guys," Touya said suddenly. Everyone looked at him and blinked. He was standing on a ledge that was above them. "Come here, you've got to see this." He said, motioning for them all to join him. One by one, they all went to the ledge and peered over it.

Not too far below them was a great gathering of people. A loud cheer rang out as the two Sailor Senshi came into view.

"What the heck's going on down there?"

"That's everyone from the party, I think," Ryouga said. "We're probably heroes or something now, even though we leveled the building,"

People began climbing up in droves to meet their saviors.

"Hmm," Sailor Moon looked around. "Perhaps it would be best if we were to leave at this point,"

"I'll agree with that," Tuxedo Kamen said.

"If you wish to leave now, everyone come here," the black haired man with a resemblance to Touya announced as he stood in the middle of the clearance. He was holding an impossibly large gem of some sort and it was glowing with chaos energy. Chibi Usa, Ranma and Touya nodded, knowing exactly what was going on. "Put a finger on the Emerald," He ordered them.

Once they were all touching the jewel, The man waited before saying something.

"Chaos Control."

The group disappeared instantly.

Not twenty meters away, a voice chuckled and there was the click of a button.

"Things couldn't have gone any better," Tendo Nabiki said as she put the lens cap on her DV camera and opened it, retrieving a small tape. She pocketed it and left the scene just as people began spilling over the ledge in search of the famed Sailor Senshi.

-

"Chaos Control." There was a bright flash of light and the man put away the Chaos Emerald. "I have given you all twenty minutes to get to wherever it is you need to be. Touya, come. We're leaving."

"Uh…Right," Touya said, walking after the man.

"Wait a minute," Tuxedo Kamen said. "What do you mean, 'Twenty minutes'?" The man ignored him and started walking away. Touya shrugged and followed him.

"Just come on, Let's go," Chibi-Usa said. "We're exhausted, physically and magically. I just want to get home and rest now." Sailor Moon agreed and Tuxedo Kamen sighed as he followed them away.

"Let's go," Ranma said, limping away on his own.

-

Ranma sighed as he lay in the furo. "Somethin's wrong…Akane didn't tell me everything that happened while I was out." He got out of the water and dried himself off before getting the clothes he had set out for himself. The hot water had done wonders to help mend his aching muscles. "Well, whatever the case…I need to get to sleep," He sighed as he walked into the dojo and grabbed his futon from the corner before unrolling it and taking some blankets.

---

One week later, late into the night…

---

Ryouga flicked the switch and the lights were on before he could blink. The kitchen he'd entered through the back door was covered in a thick sheet of dust. The light itself was smoking from the amount of dust it was covered in. He shook his head, and looked around the kitchen. There were absolutely no signs of recent life in the house. It had been, at the very least, months since someone had even opened the door.

He opened the refrigerator and instantly shut it, not having been prepared for the fetid stench that met him. He shook his head again and unplugged the thing before pulling it out and grabbing it by the sides to carry it out the door. He found a dumpster nearby and emptied the rotten food by shaking it. Once he was done with that, he took it back to his house and washed it out with hot water before taking it back inside of his house and putting it back where it belonged.

He plugged it in and stepped back, nodding. It was definite now; his sense of direction was fixed. 'At least, for now,' he thought. He began cleaning his house in earnest, starting with the kitchen.

---

Negi looked at the girl in front of him with confusion. "Why does Chao-san want to expose magic to the world so much?" He panted and wiped some of the blood off of his forehead.

"Fufufu…" The girl looked at her teacher with a sad smile. "Fine, since you have been so persistent," She said. "And your having lasted this long…" The girl took a relaxed stance. The boy watched her carefully, considering. "Negi-sensei," She started. "Have you ever been in a situation…where lots of bad things could have been avoided if you had done something differently?" She asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"Hm," She thought aloud. "Sensei's not as smart as I thought." She turned away. "If you figure it out, come find me. I've already given you enough clues." She started walking away, ignoring the boy.

"Wait, Chao-san!" He shouted. "Where are you going? I can't allow you to leave!" He grunted, using his wand to stand up.

"You couldn't stop me if you wanted to, Negi-sensei." She turned her head to the side and sighed. "What a disappointment, too…" She vanished.

"…" Negi froze. He looked at the spot where the girl was for almost a minute when he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He looked at the ground. "No…"

He leaned against his wand, panting as he realized what had happened.

He'd lost. Chao had won…

And as a result, so much more.

Negi blacked out.

---

A man wearing an odd uniform reclined on the roof of a huge skyscraper. His uniform was black, made with an unknown material that seemed to move at the slightest wind. He sighed as he looked up at the evening sky. The abyss was dotted with the little white lights of the stars millions of miles away and several moving streaks that he assumed to be meteorites or other types of space rock. He turned his attention to the full moon and after staring at its crater-ridden surface. It was an object that looked so full of pain and despair to him.

The once beautiful mass, having been described as many more times appealing than Earth was now an ugly mass of holes from huge objects having crashed into it over the years. With no wind or water, or any form of erosion to cover it up, the space rocks all left permanent, scarring marks on the poor satellite.

He sighed again and closed his eyes. 'What a mess. So much for the 'Peerless' Moon Kingdom.' He thought to himself. 'Although I've heard rumors of Sailor Senshi in Juban, the chances of them being the same are slim to none.' He stood up from his reclining position and overlooked Tokyo. The huge city was full of bright lights and other tall buildings dotted around.

Why had he even come here? He felt oddly drawn to this area, although nothing had happened the previous time he came and he couldn't remember ever having been here before. Suddenly, there was a feeling of being watched and he looked up at the sky, in the direction where he knew Sol's furthest planet to be.

"…?" He unconsciously raised a barrier around himself and turned his attention to a large sign in the distance. "I need to find Yggdrasill…" he muttered before walking to the edge of the building. "I don't even know what humans call it these days. They would obviously know about something that large…but, its name would have inevitably changed." He took a step over the edge.

"I do wonder, though…it's impossible for magic to have died out with Yggdrasill still alive, and if it was dead, there'd be no life on Earth as well." He paused for thought. "I will have to investigate this thoroughly." He fell forward, off of the building.

Somewhere else on the building, a voice gasped out with surprise and it's owner ran towards the edge. However, when the pink-haired figure looked down, he was gone.

"…"

---

It was the time right before morning, when the sky was still dark and still littered with stars and planets. There was a light breeze this morning and Ranma savored the cool air as it met his skin. Even the Tendo Dojo was quiet at this time of day; no revenge crazed martial artists, no old perverted masters or angry tomboys to wreck the place.

Ranma sat on the roof of the Tendo Dojo, having slept there that night as opposed to his usual spot with his father. He'd woken up very early that day, not quite knowing why, but after only a few minutes, he decided he wouldn't be sleeping. He climbed down from the roof and entered the guest room where his mother was supposed to be staying. She'd disappeared a little over a week ago, something about seeing some old relative of hers…but he wasn't given all of the details.

He was about to shut the window after himself, but decided against it and yawned as he took in the room. The futon his mother used was away in the closet and she'd taken most of her clothes with her. For the most part, the guest room was empty, with the exception of many of her more important or valuable belongings, sans the Saotome Honor Blade which was always with the woman.

There was, however, an odd looking note sitting in the middle of the floor. He raised an eyebrow as he approached it; the note was addressed to him in handwriting he didn't recognize. He kneeled over and inspected it. He could tell there was something magical about it, but the residual magic aura wasn't malevolent or possessing any kind of evil intent.

He picked it up and looked around, unfolding it. "Makimasu ka? Makimasen ka?" He raised an eyebrow and shrugged at the note. "Makimasu, I guess," He said to no one. He noticed some fine print with instructions and glanced them over. Shrugging, he folded the paper back and opened the closet, putting it away with the rest of his mother's things. She'd probably meant to give it to him before she left or something.

Ranma yawned and took a look out the open window. The sky was a light blue but the sun was still yet to be seen. He turned around and took a step towards the door—

And tripped.

"What the hell?" He groaned as he rubbed his head and the other sore spots of his body. He easily flipped over the obstacle and stood up, quietly as possible and turned to face it.

"I'll say it again; what the hell…" Ranma was looking at a large ornate chest that he was sure had _not_ been there before. "There was no way I missed this when I scanned the room," He said, narrowing his eyes. He knelt down to it and carefully opened it. He immediately let go as an extremely powerful magical aura blasted him in the face. "Whoa!" He fell backwards in surprise at the pure amount of magic that was in the box. He could practically taste it.

He shook his head and inched over to it, opening it again. This time prepared for the initial outburst of magic, he slowly opened it until the light from the full moon outside illuminated the box.

"It's…a doll." Indeed, a very finely crafted doll that looked as if it could come alive any moment, but a doll nonetheless, and dolls weren't exactly manly. "But how'd it get here?" He shrugged and was about to close it when he noticed something. "This thing…" He noticed a small key looking thing and realized something.

"Wind, or don't wind…" He remembered what he'd said after reading the note. "I guess I have to wind it," He said, picking up the doll in one hand and the other thing in another. "A bit heavier than it looks," He noted. After three rotations, he set the doll down and watched. He was only slightly surprised when the doll began twitching and shaking. No, the really surprising part was how the doll was slowly but surely starting to generate chi…

The shaking increased in intensity and Ranma leaned in, as it stopped jerking.

-

'Where am I?' Suisei Seki slowly opened her eyes and looked around the room she was in. It was sparsely decorated but there were signs of life spread about the room. She blinked several times while trying to get a grasp on where she was and what had last happened. She'd felt incredibly sleepy the entire day, and when she finally went to sleep in her box, she woke up here, wherever here was…

Oh well, what could be worse than that old fool and his dying wife…

-

"Where am I -desu?" the doll asked aloud, although Ranma could tell it wasn't to him. He raised an eyebrow as the doll rubbed her eyes and looked the room over the same way he had only moments before. Ranma coughed loudly and the doll suddenly looked at him.

"Wha? W-who are you?" the doll asked suddenly, surprised.

"You're the one who suddenly appears in my room and you're asking me," He pointed at himself with his thumb, "Who I am?"

"Yes! Now who are you?"

"What the hell? No! Who the hell are you? No, what are you? Who sent you here? Why me!"

"Such a noisy human -desu," The doll grumbled, annoyed. She climbed out of her box and began to survey the room.

"Hey, now. I wound you up, the least you can do is tell me all that stuff!" He said angrily.

"Humph, I don't have to tell you anything -desu!" The doll crossed her arms and looked away from him. She looked around the room and whistled. "What sparse decorations. Are you poor or something?" Ranma growled and clenched his fist.

"That's none of your business," He spat. "But if you don't like it here, why don't you just leave!"

"This room is smaller than I'm used to, but I suppose I could change it to meet my needs -desu," She looked around.

"Hey, are you even listening to me?"

"Would you please be quiet? I'm trying to figure out how to fix this room." The doll snapped. "Hmm, this could be moved…"

"That's it," Ranma growled. He stood up and walked over to the doll, picking her up by the shoulders. "You're leaving right now,"

"Let me go! Put me down!" Ranma walked over to the open box and set the doll inside. She instantly jumped out and ran from the box.

"Come back here!"

"Eee!" Suisei Seki jumped out of Ranma's way as he lunged. The boy righted himself almost instantly and bounced at her new direction, but she was able to dodge him again. 'This human is frighteningly fast! How is he doing that?' Her eyes widened as he came at her again and she ducked.

Unfortunately, it wasn't fast enough do dodge him. Ranma collided with her, sending them both sprawling into the wall.

"Ugh…" Ranma groaned as he looked up and tried to shake the dizziness out of his head. He looked down at the doll and found she was unconscious. "Great…just what I need." He put a hand underneath himself when suddenly the door flew open…and there stood an irate looking Akane.

"What the _hell_ is going on in here?" She asked as soon as she opened the door. She spotted Ranma immediately and… "RANMA! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT GIRL!"

"Akane, it's not what it looks-"

-

Ranma landed hard, face down in a cold pile of mud, sending the brown gunk flying as he splattered it. Suisei Seki followed shortly. "Dammit, Akane, I didn't even get a chance to explain! As always," He said. "I don't think I can take this any more," He got up out of the mud and tried to clean himself off as much as possible.

"AIEEEEEEEEE!" Ranma whipped his head to the left and spotted Suisei Seki, wide-eyed and looking at herself. She was practically covered head-to-toe in the stuff. Her dress was looking particularly bad, but even worse was her hair. It had clumps of mud keeping certain parts of it together and just looking horrible. The doll was looking at her self and in horror and disbelief.

Ranma had to stifle a laugh.

Suisei Seki looked at the sniggering boy and absolutely fumed. "YOU! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE -desu?"

"I didn't do anything, that was my moody iinazuke," He admitted. "I have to say it's a nice touch."

"YOU…DESPICABLE HUMAN!" She picked up a clump of mud in her hands and threw it at him with righteous fury. "I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD ON A PLATTER -desu!" Ranma had to shield his face with his hands or the mud would have gotten in his eyes, and he was totally unprepared for the lunge the doll made for him. As he brought his hands down, he cried out in terror as the furious Suisei Seki collided with him.

---

Ryouga sighed as he took a look at the interior of his house. He'd cleaned the place up quite well. Maybe not as well as the Tendo Dojo always was before Ranma and his friends messed up (He briefly wondered how Kasumi did it), but it was good enough for him.

"I guess the same thing hasn't happened for mom and dad," He sighed sadly.

"Oi, what a week," Came a voice from the genkan. "Hey…why is everything so clean?"

"Eh?" Ryouga blinked. He approached the genkan and blinked again at what he saw.

There was a young girl, maybe ten or so, setting down a huge traveling pack and taking off her shoes. She was wearing a tight looking shirt and a skirt that was cut at the sides to allow movement better suited to fighting.

"Who are you?"

"Who am I! I live here, you have no right to ask me who _I_ am!" She accused, pointing at him.

"You must be joking," He laughed. "I've been living here all my life,"

"You buffoon," She snarled. "I'm not in the mood for any jokes. Tell me how you broke in and maybe," She cracked her knuckles. "Just maybe, I'll go easy on you."

"Feh," Ryouga said, crossing his arms. "You're obviously confused, little girl. I didn't break in here. I wouldn't need to!"

"That's it!" She growled and assumed an offensive stance. "Prepare yourself for the beating of a lifetime!" Ryouga raised a brow; that was one of his stances, why was she-

"HYAAAH!" The girl yelled out suddenly as she leapt at him with a fist pulled back. Her closed hand smacked into his chest with a sickening thud and Ryouga's eyes opened a bit more. He'd felt that. He'd_really_ felt that, it had actually, even if slightly, hurt. This was nothing compared to the girl's reaction, though.

Her eyes were opened wide as she looked straight up at him and jumped back. "You've gotta be some kind of monster or something," She said, taking another stance. "Okay, pig," She said, tauntingly. "You better be ready, because this time I'm coming for real!" She snickered as her taunt garnered the desired reaction.

"I…AM NOT…A PIG!" Ryouga yelled as his aura flared to life. The girl faltered slightly at his reaction but her resolve remained.

'I've just got to lead him outside somehow so that I don't break the house,' she thought to herself. She jumped backwards and sneered at him. Ryouga growled as he followed her outside.

Ryouga's thoughts were somewhat different, though. He did feel like blowing off some steam. But it was a girl, so he'd have to go easy on her. 'It's just, no one calls me…that, and gets away with it. She doesn't know, so I'll just smack some sense into her and send her on her way,' His aura calmed down visibly and he assumed a defensive stance, ready to teach this girl a lesson in pain.

---

Ranma sat in silence along with the doll Suisei Seki in the mud. They were in an abandoned lot somewhere in Nerima where the weeds grew easily and the garbage was plentiful. It looked more or less like a dump without the human waste smell. The view was good, though, and the wild flowers most people considered weeds were always attractive to the boy; not that he would tell anyone, as liking flowers was especially feminine but they always reminded him of traveling.

As for their fight, it had escalated to the point where he'd almost considered using Chi blasts, but he could tell that she was tiring, so he decided to end it. The doll in question was currently mourning her own and her dress' fate.

"Such a wonderful design -desu." She said, her voice empty of any emotion.

Ranma grunted.

"This dry, caked-in dirt will never come out -desu."

Grunt.

"My hair is unusually heavy because of all the dirt -desu."

Nod.

"This is all your fault -desu."

"No way!" Ranma said finally. "I'm not the one who threw you all the way out here in the morning,"

"But you're the one who agreed to wind me and become my master-- err, that is-" She stuttered.

"Eh?" Ranma asked with a glint in his eyes. "Master? What's this you're hiding?"

"Well, you answered positively to the question. And you wound me up like you said you would. If you had left me alone for a day or two I would have been sent elsewhere, as the spirits would have interpreted your inaction as a negative answer -desu."

"So you mean…I could have avoided all this?" He looked up at the rising sun, annoyed. 'Hey, wait a minute.' "You still haven't told me why this makes me your master. Good try, though,"

The doll sighed, looking down. "Heh…" She closed her eyes halfway, lamenting her fate even more.

"So what exactly does it mean?"

"Well…" She said, straightening herself. "It means…" She stood up and assumed a pose. "That you're my servant from now on!" Ranma gawked at the doll, as it stood in all its mud-caked glory.

"What!" He asked. "Isn't that kind of the opposite-GYAH!" He cried out as the doll kicked him in the knee. A sinister smile appeared on her face and he was beginning to become genuinely worried.

"Eeeeee hee hee hee hee…you seem to have misunderstood," She said, putting her hands on her hips. "Makimasu Ka, Makimasen Ka. Will you wind, will you not wind. It's not as basic as it sounds," She said, sneering at him. "Will you care for me, feed me, love me…All of that is included in that question," she said, laughing evilly. "You already answered positively," She resumed before he could say anything. "So now you're obligated to take care of me until the day you die and Suisei Seki has to find another master,"

"You've got to be kidding me," He put a hand on his head and shook it.

"Nope -desu. You're stuck with me," She said, in a way that made her seem to be looking down at him.

"Well, Suisei Seki," He sighed, lying back on the ground. "All I can say is come back in a few decades when I finally have some free time after all my current obligations."

"N-nani?" She asked, faltering. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," He said with finality, "I couldn't take care of you or anything, 'cuz I'm too busy fixin' up the old man's mistakes!"

"You…you dirty human," The doll started angrily. "If you have any shred of honor," she held her hand forward, demandingly. "You'd make the pact already and do your duty as my guardian!"

"Don't you dare talk to me about honor. I've had enough _honor_ in my life to last several thousand years!" The doll looked at him, surprised, and took a step back, letting her hand drop to her side. Ranma stood up and dusted himself off. "I was annoyed before, but when you brought _that_ up, I'd had enough," He turned away from the doll and started walking away.

"But…but…"

"I'll see you around, Suisei Seki," He said, waving a hand behind him.

The doll watched him in shock, not knowing quite what had happened.

"Why…why don't you want Suisei Seki?" She asked in a small voice.

"Eh?" Ranma turned around and looked at the doll. She was looking at the ground. "Huh?"

"Is…is Suisei Seki no good?" She brought her hands up to her face.

"Hey, that's not it at all," He said, fully turning around.

"Suisei Seki…is junk," She said, sadly.

"Come on now, that's not at all what I said," Ranma tried to say. He sighed as a couple of tears dropped from her eyes and hit the ground. "Come on, calm down now," He said. "I can't just put everything I have down for you and just do whatever you want."

"Yes you can -desu."

"Oh really," He said, annoyed. "You know, everyone seems to think that. That I can just set everything down, alienate myself from any other friends and do what _they_ want. It's damned annoying because I can never be selfish, yet I'm always accused of it." The doll looked up at him, as a few more tears dripped down her face.

"But," She sniffed, "Suisei Seki is so lonely! My twin sister, she's left me for some crazy, delusional old man," She started. "None of my other sisters are awake right now, and even if they were, some of them would rather be after my life than anything else…"

"Wait, sisters?" Ranma asked.

"Yes," She nodded, wiping her eyes. "Suisei Seki's sisters. Our father made all of us," She said. "Suisei Seki is the third doll of the Rozen Maidens," She curtsied as to make a formal introduction, but the effect was null as the tears on her cheeks and mud in her dress voided it. She turned her face down to the ground again.

"Rozen Maiden…" He sighed. 'I am _so_ going to regret this,' "Alright, Suisei Seki," He caved in. "I'll…make this pact with you."

"You will?" She asked, sounding slightly better. Her eyes flashed and for a second it looked as if she was smirking. Ranma took a step back in surprise then decided it must have been in his head.

"Yeah, yeah. Now hurry up before I change my mind," He said. "What exactly do I have to do? Swear upon my blood or something?"

"Well, a blood oath would ensure that your descendants had the honor of taking care of me as well, so unless you want to go that far…"

"Nuh uh," He said, crossing his arms. "I don't wanna be like oyaji, ain't none of my kids gonna suffer for stuff I did,"

"Alright," she said, raising her hand. "Well then…you have to…"

"Really. You're serious?" When she shyly turned away, he sighed again.

---

Ryouga grunted as he dodged another strike from the girl. She was an ingenious fighter; she'd already figured out a way to… sort-of counter his frightening toughness.

She was using her chi to surround her fist every time she struck him so as to lessen the pain to herself. She wasn't nearly as fast or strong as either him or Ranma, but she was no joke and he acknowledged the fact that she could have easily taken Akane, maybe even Xian Pu.

The extremely worrying thing was her art. How had she learned his family's art? Her stances and attacks were practically mimicking his own, well at least before he'd modified them and made them better, anyway. As a matter of fact, that was the only difference.

The girl in question, however, was far from happy. 'He's starting to dodge me now. This is so frustrating; I can tell he's holding back so much because his chi hasn't even gone down at all since we started fighting. I better find some way to end this soon, before he decides to get serious, or I could seriously get hurt.' She tried to keep a calm mind but she faltered when he suddenly found the sky more interesting than her. There was the loud crackle of thunder as lightning flashed across the darkening sky and he seemed to be mouthing something, but she couldn't quite make it out.

"Hey! Keep your eyes on the prize, asshole!" She yelled as she threw a particularly strong, chi-infused fist right at his face. There was a flash and she suddenly felt him tapping all around her body in many different places and she knew it was over. 'Whah…so fast…' she blacked out almost immediately.

"It's a good thing granny taught me all that shiatsu or I'd have had to hurt her badly," He said. "Come on now, kid," He slung her over his shoulder and made his way into the house. He shut the door just as torrents of rain began falling from the sky. "Barely made it," He sighed in relief and laid the girl across the couch.

---

Ranma was walking towards Nerima as Suisei Seki sat on his shoulders. The scenery was rather nice, as they were in a more rural part of the town. There were still some developed places around, though. He looked at his hand and the slightly, greenish glow it had on it as he walked down the street.

"Hey now, I've been meaning to ask you, how is it you're able to do all these human things like move and talk…even cry? What exactly is a Rozen Maiden?"

"Father made us this way. He gave us life, and through his love and the love of our masters, we're allowed to live this way -desu."

"I see. Was he some kind of wizard or something?"

"I don't know. I can't remember much about father, other than the fact that he was always so warm…his voice could drive away any fear and he seemed to be constantly shrouded in light,"

"Hmm," Ranma noted. "Hey, do all of your sisters have different colored eyes?"

"Uun," She shook her head. "Only Suisei Seki and Sousei Seki have these eyes. Sousei Seki's eyes are the opposite of mine -desu." She said.

"I see,"

The were silent for a little while when suddenly Suisei Seki looked up "Rain -desu."

"N-nani!" Ranma looked up, and indeed several ominous looking thunderclouds were gathering overhead. He quickly shifted the doll from his shoulders and leapt up to a nearby building. Suisei Seki's eyes bugged at their sudden change in speed and altitude, as well as her position.

"What are you doing?"

"I'll explain it when I get home," Ranma said. "I still haven't perfected this technique, but I can use it for this," Ranma narrowed his eyes and Suisei Seki blinked in confusion.

Then suddenly, Ranma jumped from the roof and time seemed to slow down for Suisei Seki. Ranma was emitting a soft bluish light and energy could be seen flowing around him. She could see individual raindrops as they were slowly coming from the sky and lightning that crackled stayed in the sky for more than an entire second.

There was a bright flash as Ranma rocketed forward with a sudden blast of chi. Suisei Seki's senses blurred and almost as soon as it had started, it stopped. Before she knew it, they were above the dojo. Ranma and Suisei Seki fell to the ground in a heap.

'Ugh…I used up too much Chi doing that,' Ranma's consciousness slipped away as he made a mental note never to do that again until he knew how to do it correctly.

Suisei Seki did not know how to react to what had just happened, but she could feel through her connection with her medium that he'd exhausted all of his life force. 'A human that can use life energy…that's unheard of,' She crawled out from under the boy and looked up. The rain began to downpour and Suisei Seki felt a large burst of magical energy from beneath her. She looked down and spotted a very different looking Ranma.

"N-nani?" She looked the girl over and shook her head. "What a strange human -desu."

---

Negi sighed as he sat alone in the World Tree. The truth was that Chao's plan had been flawless. To travel back in time and change the fate of the world at a crucial time such as this…

There was nothing the home country could do right now; all of their greater minds and efforts were focused upon the World Tree, and anything that could happen as a result of its current status. The mana was practically overflowing already and yet an increase could be seen daily.

"Oi, Springfield-San!" Called a voice from below. Negi looked down and blinked in confusion, as there was no one to be seen.

"Negi-Kun," Said the voice, much closer this time. "Do you mind if I call you that?" Negi almost fell off of the branch in surprise as he noticed none other than Hirohata Satoshi.

"Uh-uh, no," Negi said. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You know what I mean," Negi said, annoyed. "How in the world did you get up here so fast?"

"Oh…that's for me to know and you to guess," The man winked.

"Okay, I can accept that," Negi sighed. After a brief pause he shrugged and answered the affirmative to the man's previous question. "Pretty much everyone else calls me that, so I don't see why not,"

"Good, good," The man nodded. "Say, Negi-kun," He started. "Whaddya thinks gonna happen? I mean, the home country hasn't said much about turning anyone into ermines, yet videos of the tournament are being distributed via the Internet as we speak,"

"Yeah," Negi nodded. "I thought that was weird too. We can try and play it off as special effects, or we can just let people make of it what they will," He said. "But…"

"There's still a large number of people who will believe it's real, and as such we'll have waves of tourists, and eventually the media will find out and it'll become known worldwide,"

"It looks like it can only escalate from here," Negi nodded. "Some part of this has me thinking though,"

"Hm?"

"What if…this isn't a bad thing? After all- if Magister Magi are allowed out into the public again without having to hide their powers…" Negi trailed off.

"Lots of things could happen. Normal people would try to learn magic…it could become a common tool for normal people to use in their everyday lives, but even tools meant for the most docile of tasks can become deadly weapons, and magic isn't necessarily known for being 'docile'."

Negi could only nod. "And that's just the whole magic exposure thing. With the world tree as it is, too many other things could happen."

"Hm," Satoshi nodded. "Well, now to the reason I'm really here," He said. "Negi-kun, why are you brooding up here?"

"Brooding? I'm not brooding. Just thinking. And you know why."

"Well, your students are worried about you, especially the one with mismatched eyes," He said.

"Asuna-san?"

"She seemed to be the most worried of all," The man snickered. "You sure she's just a student? Seeing as how you're in the same age-group, it wouldn't necessarily be a taboo if you got together,"

"Satoshi-san," Negi said, his face beet red. "I don't think that's any of your business…"

"Hn," The man chuckled. "Whatever you say. But she is worried. You should go find her."

"Okay," Negi nodded and stood up, grabbing his wand. "I'll go see her now," He hopped onto his wand and drifted a little bit off from the tree. "Say, Satoshi-san," He said. "What exactly is your job here at Mahora? Why hadn't I seen you before the meeting with the Headmaster?" He waited for a second before turning around and blinking. "Satoshi-san?"

The man was gone.

"Satoshi-san?"

---

"Nng, Oof…" Suisei Seki opened the door to the Tendo residence and dragged Ranma in behind her.

"Eh…" Soun looked up from his game of Shogi with Genma and watched as a doll, not much taller than Happosai or Cologne, dressed in an elegant green yet mud-caked dress, dragged Ranma into the house.

"What is it, Tendo-Kun?" Genma asked without looking up from the board.

"Nothing, old friend." Tendo shook his head and looked back down at the board. 'Wasn't this piece over there?'

-

Suisei Seki hefted Ranma into the furo and sighed as the girl transformed into a boy. "Such a troublesome human -desu." She watched as bubbles erupted on the surface of the water and the boy surfaced after a good five seconds.

"W-what are you t-trying to do, kill me!" The boy sputtered and spat water out as he phrased his question.

"Not really -desu." The doll blinked. "If I was trying to kill you you'd be dead -desu." She smirked.

"Oh really," Ranma let the hot water drip from his face. "Care to test that theory?" He asked.

"It's not something that really needs to be discussed," She said with a haughty look. She hopped over the furo and landed in it with a great splash.

"Hey! Hey!" Ranma said as the submerged doll surfaced. The mud came out of her hair and the water started looking cloudy with dirt. "You're supposed to wash yourself outside and get in when you're clean!"

"I know," She said. "But this is faster -desu." She playfully splashed the water with her hands.

"Now I'm gonna have to wash the furo," He grumbled.

"Oh shut up," she splashed some dirty water into his face.

"Hey!"

"Tsk tsk, such an irritable human -desu." She stopped and pat her dress under the water to get more dirt off before climbing out of the furo. She looked herself over and sighed; Her hair was okay for now, but her dress still needed to be washed properly. "It's your fault we were in the mud. You can clean it up."

"How many times do I have to tell you," Ranma said, getting out of the furo. "It's not my fault my fiancé swings at the first thing she sees every morning!" He turned around and drained the furo. "Gah, now my clothes are all wet."

"Better than all muddy."

"I guess," Ranma agreed. He concentrated and tried to use his chi to dry the clothes, but he was only able to do so partially. "I forgot how much Chi I used for that technique," He said.

"Technique? You mean when you were flying?" She asked.

"Yes," He said.

"How is it you can talk about it so casually?" She asked, confused. Last time she checked, Humans didn't have the ability to fly, let alone at such speeds. "And that magical transformation with the water, too. That was pretty weird -desu."

"You're a walking, talking, breathing, LIVING doll and you have to ask…" Suisei Seki looked away. "Don't you have something to do?"

"Not really -desu. I don't really know much about you or this house."

"I guess I'll introduce you to everyone,"

-

"This is Suisei Seki. She's a doll."

Nabiki and Akane stared at Ranma. Suisei Seki frowned and kicked him in the shin.

"Ow!"

"Ahem," The doll spoke up. "Through events that are beyond my control, this human has been selected to host me and any acquaintances I may have. You may refer to me as and ONLY as Suisei Seki-SAMA-" Ranma slapped her on the back of the head. "Itaiii -desu!"

"Quit being such a spectacle!"

"I'll show you a spectacle -desu!" She jumped up and tackled him, knocking him over.

"…" Everyone watched briefly as the doll relentlessly assaulted her "Servant".

"Ranma, stop being so mean to her," Akane said suddenly.

"Ow, ow…what?" He asked.

"She's just a doll, Ranma." Nabiki spoke up.

"But…"

"Come on, she's a _doll_. Just let her have her way."

"That's a good start -desu, ningen!" Suisei Seki smiled at the girl. She turned to her "Servant" and smirked. "You should be more like her!"

"Feh," Ranma said. "If I were more like her, I'd have pawned you off to the highest bidder when you were crying and begging for my partnership," He said.

"E-eh?" Suisei Seki looked at Nabiki with fearful eyes. Nabiki smirked and stared at her. "Wait," She said suddenly, annoyed. She frowned and kicked Ranma in the shin again. "What are you talking about, sobbing and begging? Suisei Seki did no such thing! I seem to recall you, pitiful human, who was begging me to help you with all of your life's problems so you could prosper!" The doll started laughing.

"What?" Ranma asked as he rubbed his leg, sincerely confused. Suisei Seki growled and kicked him in the shin again. "OW! Stop that already!"

"Play along -desu!" She whispered.

"We heard that," Akane commented, with a half-lidded stare.

"Eee…." Suisei Seki blushed.

"Well, that's that," Ranma sighed. "Play nice. I'm going out," He said.

"Where are you going?" Akane asked, annoyed. "You've been doing that a lot recently. Even during the school week.

"I'm heading over to Touya's," Ranma said. "I need him to show me something." Ranma shut the door behind himself and left the dojo. Suisei Seki blinked and then looked up at the two sisters.

"Hn," Akane shrugged. "I guess I'll just go watch TV." She walked away and Suisei Seki turned to Nabiki.

"Say, Suisei Seki," Nabiki said. "Are there more dolls like you?"

"Of course -desu! If the purpose of making Rozen Maidens was to make the perfect doll, then it would be inevitable that there are more than one -desu."

"I see…that's interesting." Nabiki nodded and went up into her room.

Suisei Seki blinked. "Suisei Seki is alone once again -desu. There's got to be something around here to do…"

---

The sun had almost reached its apex in the sky. Traffic was slow on this day, and there were weren't so many people wandering around; maybe one or two other people had passed him the entire time he'd been out.

Ranma sighed. Having expended most of his Chi, he was forced to take a more normal route to get to Juban. He never imagined walking down the street like a normal person would ever be so boring.

"Yawn…I guess this is what it's like to be a normal, every day person," He sighed. "Man, this sucks. I'd be there already if it wasn't for…" Ranma narrowed his eyes and suddenly jumped back. There was a dark blur and his hand shot up to catch something. He looked at it and raised a brow. "A black feather?" He looked at its point of origin and blinked. There was a silhouette of a person there, but the moment he noticed it, it vanished. He shrugged and tossed the feather to the side, continuing on his way.

Not too far away, a certain doll was laughing to herself…

"Fufufu… My, what impressive reflexes for a human. The gardener has found a good medium… but that does not change the fact that soon, her Rosa Mystica will be mine…"

--


	5. Shitaru

Disclaimer: None of the series, characters, or locations mentioned in this story are owned by the author of this story unless stated otherwise. 

---

The morning sun was warm on her skin as Kagome left her house with her school as her destination. She sagged as she walked on her own to her doom.

About three blocks from her house, a voice called out.

"Hey! Higurashi-san!" Came a feminine voice. Kagome turned her head in surprise and blinked.

"Sakurada-san?" She asked. The other girl nodded. She caught up with Kagome and started walking besides her.

"How are you feeling, Higurashi-san? Do you really think you can make it through today?" She asked, concern filling her voice.

"Y-yeah," Kagome said, weakly, realizing how slouched she looked. She stood up straighter and quickly tried to wake up. "I'm just tired, that's all," She said.

"Ah, I see," The girl said cheerfully. She kept pace with Kagome for a minute or two then started slowing down. "Ah, Higurashi-san," She said. "Could we slow down? I'm getting tired for some reason," She said.

'Oh yeah, I'm walking much faster than she is,' Kagome thought to herself. "Ah, okay, I could use the rest myself," she said, not calling attention to being the one who'd set the pace.

"This is pretty shameful," Nori sighed to herself. "I'm on a sports team, and yet I'm the one to get tired first…"

"Ah, Sakurada-san," Kagome said nervously. "How're things going with your brother?"

"Ah…Jun-kun," She sighed. "He's still…the same way," She shook her head. Kagome's expression mirrored Nori's; Sakurada Jun, her younger brother, had cracked under extreme pressure from school a while ago, and as a result, he became a 'hikikomori'. In essence, the boy had withdrawn totally and completely from his social life.

"Well," Nori said, having caught her breath. "Let's go! I for one do not want to be late," She stood up and started walking. Kagome followed with a sigh and soon they both arrived at the school.

---

Asuna sighed as she looked up at the bright sky. "Couldn't find him anywhere…"

"Ah, Asuna-san!" Cried a voice. Asuna blinked and turned to see Negi running towards her.

"Oh, there you are, brat," She said, annoyed. "I've been looking for you all morning. Where the hell were you?"

"Oh, sorry… I was at the World Tree…"

"Again! Listen, Negi, I know the world tree is a big deal and all, but you've got to stop this. It's as if the damned thing is calling you or something."

"Asuna, you're…"

"I'm being serious," She said with a concerned look on her face. "Even though I've only recently been introduced to the world of magic, and I'm sure I still don't know as much as most beginner wizards do, I still have an idea of what's going on with that thing."

"Then you should know why I'm so concerned about it."

"But Negi, you're just a kid! You should leave that kind of stuff to the Headmaster and Takahata-sensei, or even Evangeline-san!"

"…Asuna, if I'm not assertive or concerned, it's easy to keep information from me. That's why most kids, heck, even adults are so ignorant."

"Uh…well haven't you ever heard that western phrase…how's it go…'blissful ignorance'?"

"…"

"Hey, what's wrong? Didn't I say it right?" Asuna asked, blushing.

"Yes, yes…I'm just so proud, Asuna!" He let a single tear escape his eye.

"E-eh? What…"

"You actually remembered something from class! Oh Asuna-san, I'm so happy for you!" He hugged the girl as she continued blushing.

"Why you…" Her left eye twitched and she clenched a fist.

"Eh? Asuna-san? What's wrong?"

-

"That was mean, Asuna-san," Negi rubbed his head where Asuna'd hit him.

"Serves you right. You don't need to call so much attention to my…my…whatever you call it in public, you little brat…"

---

Ranma sighed as he held his hands behind his head while he left Juuban. Touya wasn't home, and Chibi-Usa was apparently being punished for something, not even able to partake in any kind of martial arts lessons. The girl really had some potential though; her magical base was intense, probably as good as his.

Now, he hadn't the slightest idea on how to train a magical base, but the raw potential was there, and her already high Chi could be increased through training. It was true that anyone could learn martial arts, but some people were bred for it, and it seemed like both she and her sister seemed to be as thoroughbred as he was.

Which was quite odd, considering that neither of their parents were martial artists and their brother didn't have nearly as much potential.

The walk home was as boring as the walk there; not too many people to notice or recognize him and some very normal scenery.

'What was with that black feather on my way here, though? Oh well, I need to take walks more often…hey wait, I know this neighborhood...'

-

Ryouga sighed as he looked the girl over another time. "So how long have you been living here now?"

"Ever since I was born," She said.

"I see." He blinked and sat back with a thoughtful look on his face. His eyes widened for a second, and he nodded with a cliché palm-in-fist exclamation. "So you were born sometime today! How odd…"

"Noooo!" She yelled. "You're either stupid or an asshole," She fumed.

"Alright little girl, why don't you start out by telling me your name. That might add some credibility to your story."

"Why, so you can go around and pose as me? As if! Why don't you give me your name instead?"

"Eh, so you can use my last name and try to say that you've been living here? Get real!" Suddenly, Ranma's voice called from the door.

"Oi! HIBIKI! I know you're there! I can hear you!"

"That's for me," both of them said before blinking. "What do you mean, for you? Trying to further your credibility even more!" They growled at each other's faces and both ran for the door.

"Who is it!" Both yelled angrily.

"Uh, me…but I think I'll be going-"

"WAIT!" the girl yelled. "Who are you here for? Would it be Hibiki Rie?"

"Uh, no…the person I'm after is Ryouga…" The voice said nervously.

"Ryouga?" The girl blinked. "Hibiki Ryouga? He's not here-"

"You moron!" Ryouga laughingly yelled. "That's me! I'm Hibiki Ryouga!"

"What the heck's goin on in there? Who's that girl with you, Ryouga?"

"Masaka…Wait, wait, wait. Wait. WAIT!" the girl panted as Ryouga and Ranma stopped talking. She poked Ryouga in the chest. "So wait a minute. YOU'RE Hibiki Ryouga?" She asked.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"I don't believe this," she shook her head. "So YOU'RE my older brother?"

There was silence.

The girl sighed.

"I thought you'd be way cooler than this."

"W-w-wait…Brother? Me?" Ryouga was reminded of a certain time a certain aqua-transexual posed as his sister. "Hey now, wait a minute. Prove that you're my sister."

"_You_ prove that you're Ryouga!"

"Can you guys open the door?"

"Let yourself in, Ranma, it's open," The door promptly opened and in walked Ranma. The boy immediately left his shoes in the genkan and went to inspect the girl Rie. "Hey, I've got an idea. Say, little girl, do you know where the kitchen is? Could you get me some cold water please? You shouldn't need to open any doors on your way there."

"C-Cold water? What are you doing Ranma?" The fanged boy asked heatedly.

"Why should I get you water?" she snapped.

"'Cause I'm the guest, now go," He ruffled her hair. The girl grumbled and sighed as she did what he said. She walked away from them and walked through one of the halls in their house.

"Hey wait a minute, isn't the kitchen that way?" Ryouga asked as he pointed in towards the kitchen. Ranma's eyes widened upon hearing this.

"Very good Ryouga, you got it right. I do say this proves something."

"This proves nothing, if she doesn't live here, she won't know where anything is!"

"Ah, but wait." Ranma disappeared with two leaps up the stairs. Less than thirty seconds later he led a confused looking Rie down the stairs. Ryouga's jaw was agape.

"But those…are the only stairs…in the house…"

"I say, this makes her related to you in some way," Ranma said with a thoughtful look.

"What are you two going on about? And why did you bring me back, I thought you wanted water!"

"I stopped you before you got too lost is all."

"W-what? How dare you suggest that I could get lost in my own house!"

"I just did," Ranma stuck his tongue out at the girl. "What'cha gonna do about it?" The girl fumed as Ryouga just sighed and shook his head.

---

Suiseiseki watched the last of the sunset from the window of 'her' room. "What inconsiderate humans -desu…"

---

"Feh," A tall man dressed in an all white uniform tossed a magazine behind him. In the alleyway where he was, doing so could not really be considered littering; it was actually one of the better-looking things in that alley. Garbage littered the sides and unknown substances were littered along the ground along with broken shards of glass and rusted pieces of metal. Damp, rotting pieces of paper clung to the walls and the ground. He ran a hand through some of his elegant long hair and sighed.

"What useless media," He walked out of the alley and onto the street. At night, there weren't as many people on this particular street, and everyone there was giving him odd looks. "I must stand out. I should try to keep a low profile,"

"Touya!" A young, feminine voice cried out from nearby. He ignored it and started walking. "Hey, Touya!" This time, the voice was much closer. He turned around and spotted a young girl with pink hair arranged in a familiar shape running towards him post-haste. When she to him, she had to stop and catch her breath. After a few minutes of waiting, she finally looked up at him, only to be surprised. "Hey, you're not Touya,"

"No, I'm not,"

"His hair is like yours, so I thought…" She bowed. "Sorry about that,"

"It's no problem," He said. "Just a bit surprising." He nodded and turned, walking away.

Suddenly, a nearby explosion rocked the ground.

"What the hell was that!" Chibi-usa looked in the direction from where the sound had come. There was an odd humanoid shaped creature standing near a large amethyst spire, surrounded by debris. The ground under it was fractured and destroyed. Purple fog began spilling from the crystal and Chibi-Usa could feel a sudden change in her emotions. 'That fog, it's some sort of depressant,' She realized. "Must be a new weapon for them," She sighed as she looked around for a place to transform into Sailor Chibi-Moon. She found an alleyway not too far away and went in after checking the area.

"They're so unorganized," She muttered to herself. "No strategy at all. This isn't even a crowded place, where are they going to find that 'Soul fire' they keep talking about?" Moments later, Sailor Chibi-Moon was out and ready to fight. She spotted the creature making its way to the man in the white. It reached forward to grab him and she gasped. "Look out!"

There was a sudden flash of energy as the creature's massive limb collided with the man. Its entire arm was frozen, all the way up to the shoulder. The man then proceeded to tear the frozen limb right from its socket. She gagged at the intense stench that followed as the monster's blood poured out in great volume; even at her own distance she had to cover her nose and mouth to avoid coughing up her stomach bile (well, the Senshi transformation prevented her from doing so, but it was still an unpleasant experience.) when the creature started wailing. The creature clutched it's stump of an arm as it wailed and the man simply, with one hand, swung the large, frozen limb like a club, slamming it into the creature's head and sending it flying backwards.

'What the hell,' She thought to herself. 'The guy's brutal, and he instantly froze that thing on contact with his body. That's… how did he do that?' She watched, as he proceeded to beat the thing to death with it's own frozen arm. As it finally died, it's body being far beyond recognition (not that it was too human-like to begin with) it melted into the green slime that normally formed when the new enemies died. The crystal it had raised sank into the ground as well. The man slammed his blunt object into the ground, shattering it and the shards quickly dissipated in the same way as the rest of its body.

He turned towards Chibi-Usa and blinked. "Huh," He thought. "I've never seen _you _before. Which one are you?"

"Eh?" She asked.

"Which planet," He said as if it was the most normal thing possible.

"Uh… actually, the moon,"

"Eh? But if you're…" He muttered something to himself and shook his head. After a few seconds, he suddenly nodded, as if coming to a conclusion. "That explains the dormant state of all the other planets and Luna itself…"

"Hey, who are you?"

"Just a person," He said, with a wave of his hand. He turned and started walking away.

"Hey wait!" Chibi-Usa ran over to catch up to him. "Wait a minuite," She said. He turned to her with a brow raised. "What the hell was that just now?"

"What?"

"You just killed that thing," She said. 'I wish I knew what to call it…'

"Oh, that? Well…" He shrugged. "It was something that doesn't belong here, right? I mean, I don't see too many of them wandering around, so obviously some outside influence put it there, and as such it warranted a removal."

"But you stood there until it tried to attack you," She said suspiciously.

"I was trying to reason with it," He said. "It's only natural to do so before attacking…"

"But it's a monster! Monsters don't have reason…"

"It could have been lost. My, you're really inexperienced, aren't you? Have you even been outside of the Sol system yet?"

"W-what? Actually, yes-"

"I bet you haven't even left Gaia," He sighed. "How much were you guys set back, anyway?"

"What the hell are you talking about!"

"Well you're obviously from the Lunarian kingdom, and your hair somewhat resembles that of Serenity," He commented lazily.

"Y-you knew Serenity?"

"Well, all of them usually have the same hair, but I've known quite a few of them," He said. "You mean there isn't even one now?" He asked, boggled. "How the hell is your government holding up without a queen?"

"Who are you, again?" She asked suspiciously.

"…" He kept silent.

"How do you know so much about the Serenity line? About the Moon Kingdom?"

"…" He took a step back.

"Hey, answer me!" She was about to grab him by the shoulder when his arm shot up and caught hers. He pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her, and instantly, they were off the ground and in the air when another amethyst crystal erupted from the ground right below them.

Had he been a single second slower, she would have been split in half.

She blanched upon realizing this. He landed a good five meters away and set her down.

"Something bigger than that last one is coming," He said. He cracked his knuckles in a way that Chibi-Usa found oddly familiar.

"Who the hell are you again?"

"That's good," He ignored her question and began walking forward as the rather large crystal continued rising from the ground. Suddenly, a huge black spiraling portal appeared where the crystal was. There was a deep rumbling sound and she wavered. She could feel the huge amounts of energy from whatever was coming to them.

"I've got to get the other Senshi here, pronto,"

"Your assistance is totally and completely unnecessary," He turned his head around. "I want you to get far, far away, far as possible."

"What? You can't tell me what to do!" She growled. "I'm a…er, regardless of what I am, you still just can't order me around!"

"Hnn," He merely acknowledged her and turned back to the swirling portal. His right arm began glowing a very bright blue and Chibi-moon could see a large object at least as long as he was tall forming on his arm. He spread his legs evenly in what Chibi-Usa recognized as a martial-arts stance to brace himself for something and held out his right arm forward with his left arm up, bracing the other.

"What are you doing?"

"You're still here? I would advise you to run now,"

The massive object slowly finished materializing and when it was done the light blue glow disappeared. Energy could be seen gathering at the front of his assumed weapon, and Sailor Chibi-Moon had to narrow her eyes to assess how much energy was being pulled into the device. Her eyes opened wide, as without warning, there was a shockwave at the front of his apparatus, where the small bits of energy had been gathering before. The following burst of energy sent her flying backwards into a building.

She was unconscious before she hit the ground.

---

Ryoko turned her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. "What the heck was that?" Gojyou blinked and looked at her.

"What are you talking about?"

"Say, Shiouji, can your computer detect energy signatures?"

"Yes, that's how we found you,"

"I just felt something in that direction." She pointed in the direction she'd felt the energy.

"…Is that so?" He immediately began walking to his lab. "I usually leave my computers running to detect things of that matter, so they should have picked it up."

---

Ranma froze as he felt a rather large wave of energy pass through the yard. He looked in the direction of Juuban, where it'd originated. "What the _hell_?" he stood up and immediately leapt in that direction.

---

Inuyasha banged on Kagome's window as hard as he could without breaking it. After a good thirty seconds, the aggravated girl opened the window and glared at him.

"Kagome, we-"

"What the hell is your problem Inuyasha! I'm trying to get some sleep!"

"We have to go-"

"Dammit, Inuyasha, I thought I told you already that I can't leave until I've finished with test prep!"

"It's not that-"

"You selfish bastard, waking me up in the middle of the night so you can find your precious shards-"

"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME!" Inuyasha roared, clenching one of his fists. Kagome eeped and took a step back.

"I-Inuyasha?"

"There," the disgruntled hanyou sighed. "Listen, I'll explain on the way. You just have to come right now, trust me."

---

Negi Springfield turned his head in shock. "I don't believe it..."

"N-Negi-sensei," Asuna stuttered as she looked in the same direction that he had. "What…what was that?"

"Asuna-san felt it too?" He asked, surprised.

"W-well yeah. How could I not feel it?" She asked, looking at him as if he was mentally ill.

"Asuna…that was a very powerful blast of…actually, I'm not sure," He narrowed his eyes. "It definitely wasn't magic, and it wasn't Ki, nor a combination of the two…how odd. But regardless of what it was, even with all of your current skills, you still should not have been able to feel that yet..." He looked at her seriously. "This certainly is an odd turn of events…first, Chao-san…the whole time incident…Then the world tree…and this."

"…"

"Never mind all of that for now. Asuna, is this the first time this happened for you?"

"Nah," She blinked. "I remember a little while ago, back when everyone thought a UFO had appeared, I felt the same thing," She said.

"I see," He nodded. "That's right, the same energy was there…on that day, too…"

"Negi," She asked. "What does that mean?"

"The two are obviously related…"

"Great, just great. Some how, I know this is going to involve us-"

"Negi-sensei, Negi-sensei!" Cried a voice from outside of the door. "The headmaster would like to meet with you, post-haste!"

"Eh? Eh?" Negi blinked. He looked at Asuna who shrugged and blinked.

-

A man dressed in concealing clothes knelt before a man sitting behind an elaborately designed desk.

"We must build our forces in order to prepare for any possible event. No effort can be spared. I'm sure they have already realized what is happening and have likely decided to take solitary action, but it would be best to convince them to join us in this."

"Understood. My partner and I will depart immediately." The man vanished into the darkness.

Not moments later, the door opened and Negi poked his head in. "You wanted to see me professor?"

"Ah, Negi-kun," the headmaster of Mahora Academy stood from his chair. "It does me good to see you well. Come in, come in, we have some things to discuss." Negi accepted the invitation and walked in, closing the door behind himself. "Now, I'm sure you're aware of the energies that have been appearing to the east…"

"Of course," Negi blinked.

"That is why you, Negi, have been selected to investigate the matter."

"E-excuse me?"

"You are to investigate the cause of this new emergence of energy and see what it is."

"I-I see…and I would humbly accept this assignment, but…"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Who will teach my class? What of the festival? Why me?"

"You have already been assigned a suitable substitute instructor for the time of your absence. As for the festival…" The old man sighed. "Such things are out of our hands at this time. It's just as well; we could cover it up, but the future does not look like it will be nearly as…plain as it did before."

"So…magic is really becoming a common thing?"

The old man nodded. "That is for certain. What's also for certain is that it is the doing of the World Tree. However, the Tree's sphere of influence only encompasses Mahora academy at this time, and is constantly expanding in all directions. Eventually, Gaia's entire atmosphere will become at the very least, a thousand times more magically saturated than it is now. Mana will flow freely once more."

"A-A thousand!" Negi felt dizzy at the mention of such a large number. "At the least, a thousand, sir?"

"That is correct." The old man turned away from Negi to look out of his darkened window. "As for why you were chosen…I had a feeling that somehow, going to the source of this power would help you in some way."

"Ah…you mean…my father?"

"Correct. I have reason to believe that he is, indirectly at least, involved with the things that are happening."

"Ah…I see." There was silence between the two for a moment as Negi gathered himself. "Sir, when am I to be leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning will be early enough," He said.

"T-tomorrow?" Negi checked a clock. It was nearly midnight. "I guess I should get some sleep then," He said.

"Negi, you will not be going alone. You are allowed two accomplices, regardless of their position or status in the school."

Negi looked up. "Oh?" Negi focused as he thought over who he could trust to go with him. 'Regardless of their position or status' was obviously referring to any of his students that were already in the know of magic, so… "I'd like for Asuna to come with me, sir."

"That can be arranged…"

"Two…then…Kotaro…Yes, I'd like for Kotaro to come as well."

"Hm? Why that one?"

"I have a feeling…"

"Ah, yes, well…I suppose it would be fine for him to accompany you…"

"Ah, I do have some more questions, headmaster…"

"Hmm?"

"Where will we stay? And how will we live?"

"Do not worry. The school can afford to pay living expenses,"

"Ah…but, I don't want to be a burden," The headmaster held up his hand to stop him.

"You'll be going on official business. As it is an assignment, it would be more of a burden on yourself if we could not provide you with a place to stay,"

"…Understood."

-

Asuna waited as Negi left the headmaster's office. "Negi, what's going on? Why did the headmaster want only you to go in there?"

"He had an assignment for me," The boy said as he grabbed his staff and started towards the exit, with Asuna curiously following.

"What was it?" Negi stopped and looked up at Asuna.

"I've been selected to investigate the mysterious power surges we've been feeling recently,"

"But, the last one was right before the headmaster's messenger arrived. Do you think he predicted that?"

"Iie, that was just a coincidence,"

"Don't believe in coincidences," Said a voice directly in front of them. Both Negi and Asuna immediately halted and turned to face the person in front of them.

"Eh…Satoshi-san?"

"So you were assigned somewhere as well," The man said.

"Yeah. Tokyo." The boy nodded. "Where are you going?"

"Some place called Misaki…I think you, Evangeline, and I are the only ones to be assigned anywhere within the country,"

"Eh? Evangeline-san was told to go somewhere? Isn't that…a bit dangerous?"

"Yes, but the headmaster trusts her to keep a level head while out, especially when it's over something this large. Well, I guess I'll see you guys sometime later. I'm actually supposed to leave right away, my assignment is very urgent because the targets may decide to change locations without warning. Ciao, Negi-kun!" The man waved as he walked away.

"Huh…" They both shrugged and went on their way.

-

Darkness flooded the headmaster's office, as the only light was that of the moon.

"Headmaster, are you sure this is wise? Sending your strongest I mean," commented a young feminine voice from the shadows. "This leaves the school quite vulnerable, you know…"

"They are my strongest and most trusted as well," The headmaster said simply. "You must realize that the tasks I have given them are not at all easy. The people they are all en route to meet are not known for being particularly helpful to Magi, especially the Flame Haze…"

"Yes, I suppose that is true… Flame Haze are generally known for doing as they please,"

"But this time should be different. The balance between worlds is shifting."

"…"

"Many things that could not exist here before because of Chikyuu's lack of mana will be coming back. Elves, Youkai, Ryuuzoku…and most certainly, Mazoku…"

"…"

"It is a surprising development, actually. I did not think I, or any of my direct descendants would live to see anything like this."

"…"

"You're awfully quiet. Is something the matter?"

"…You do not seem to be taking this seriously."

"Ha ha ha…I suppose not,"

"…What of the boy? Why did you choose him, knowing whom he would take with him? The girl's just a student. She doesn't need to get any more involved than she is."

"Ah, ah," The man raised a finger. "I have a feeling that Asuna will be one of the most effected by the increase of mana. As such, it would be best for her to be involved with the magic community somewhat more than she is already."

"…I see."

"As for why I chose Negi…It's not something I can tell you at the moment. But what are you worried about, losing your favorite student?"

"_Only_ student,"

"Don't forget the girls he's been teaching. They still count as yours,"

"Hmph."

---

"Oh geez," Ranma said as he examined the area. _Everything_ was _completely _covered in ice. _Everything._ "Someone decided overkill was necessary." He looked around and noticed some depressions that were probably craters of something being smashed before the ice had appeared. "_Major_ overkill." He rubbed some of the ice and had to admire it. "It's not melting at all."

"Chibi-usa! Everyone, I found her!" cried out a voice not too far away. Ranma didn't recognize the voice, but he recognized the name they were calling out. He turned to the direction where the voices had come from and slowly walked over towards them. The ice was rugged, but each small surface of ice was smooth and slippery, meaning that running or jumping was out of the question.

"Is she awake yet?" Ranma peered from behind a large chunk of ice as most of the Sailor Senshi watched Chibi-moon's prone form on the ground. The only one who seemed closest to her in age was knelt over her, apparently healing her while the one with blue hair typed some things into a small device he could only guess was a pocket pc or something.

"What the heck…is that some sort of costume party?" Ranma whispered to himself.

"Sailor Mercury, what can you tell us at this point?"

"..!" Ranma's eyes widened and he shrank behind the ice block. 'THEY're the Sailor Senshi!' He blinked as he suddenly realized it made sense. And they did look familiar. Not that he could remember consciously looking at pictures of them before…maybe a poster or two seen in passing, that had to be it… He looked up over the ice again.

"…ately the same energy as before. Whatever it is, its powers are obviously ice-based, but at this point, that's all I can tell you."

"I see," Usagi sighed-

'Wait, USAGI!' Ranma almost choked and shrank behind the block of Ice again, before remembering a past event in which both Chibi-Usa and Usagi were wearing odd sailor fuku. 'Last week…why couldn't I recognize them then?'

"She's coming to!" Hotaru said as loud as she could. Ranma looked up over the ice block and watched the Sailor Senshi he knew to be Chibi-Usa sit up.

"Oi…" the girl groaned as she rubbed her head.

"She's okay,"

"Oh…everyone? What's going on? How did you all find me?"

"There was an intense concentration of energy that we all followed here. Ami's been using the Mercury computer to analyze the area, but nothing so far… But, what happened? When we found you, you were frozen solid!"

"Eh?" Chibi-usa realized just what was surrounding her and the rest of the Senshi. "What the heck?"

"You mean…you don't know?"

"Not really. All I remember is…" Chibi-Usa paused. "That man…"

"What? Who? Who did all of this?"

"I don't know…he wouldn't tell me who he was, but…"

-

Inuyasha watched from above with Kagome on his back. "They're more of the girls we saw last time."

"Yeah, they're the Sailor Senshi," Kagome nodded. 'Why am I so calm about this? I'm seeing some of the most famous people in Japan right now and I don't feel excited at all. Must be the time of night…' "What are they talking about? Did they do this?"

"No…apparently some weird human dressed in all white did all of this…"

"Hm, doesn't sound familiar." She thought. "Must be a new enemy of theirs…"

"Kagome, this ain't the time to be so nonchalant! Some guy with the power to do this is running around- in _your­_ time-"

"And? There're plenty of guys running around _your_ time who can do this," She yawned. "But I guess it is a bit weird…"

---

"Washuu, have you been able to figure it out yet? Was it Ryoko?"

"No," The scientist shook her head. "It definitely wasn't her. But what it was, I can't be sure of…"

"Oh…okay," Tenchi sighed and left her laboratory. Washuu looked after him and sighed.

'Ever since Ryoko disappeared, he's been in a slump…' The scientist blinked as she realized how long it'd been. 'It's been almost two weeks since we lost contact…' The scientist shook her head and went back to her work. 'All of these odd things occurring on earth must somehow be related. First, that UFO that nothing could detect until it made contact with Earth, and that strange burst of mana, now this…what could be happening?'

---

"…" Ranma stood on the roof of the Tendo home. 'Usa-chan and Chibi-usa…Super heroes.' He shook his head. 'This whole time they've been talking about the Senshi like experts, parading about how powerful and respectable the Senshi are.' Physically, only two or three of them looked to be martial artists, and neither of them appeared close to his level in his chosen art.

Magic-wise, however, was a completely different case.

'One of them was able to melt all of that ice without breaking a sweat…There's no way I could beat any one of them…Dammit, how ironic – me, the super macho martial artist panicking over a bunch of girls.' He clenched his fists in frustration. 'I've got to find a way to get stronger…but how? No matter how much time I spend training anymore, I don't seem to be getting any stronger…faster, thanks to Touya's training, but no stronger, or even tougher.'

'There has to be some way to tap more potential than I have been…I know there's a way for me to get stronger than this…' He sighed and sat down on the roof. 'How pathetic…'

---

Asuna sat up in her bed and looked around in the darkness. Negi was asleep in his usual position on his futon, and she could hear Konoka's breathing below her. She slipped out of her bed and double-checked to see if either was awake. She'd gone to sleep in some regular clothes instead of pajamas, so she was ready to go. She put on her shoes and left, making sure to close the door behind her softly.

Negi opened one eye and looked around. "I thought as much. She saw something at the World Tree…" He climbed out of bed, equally dressed and walked to the door. He could sense Asuna's aura right outside the door as if she was waiting for something. After a few seconds of waiting, she left. When she was sufficiently far enough away, he grabbed his wand and opened the door to leave.

-

Asuna looked up at the huge glowing tree as she slowly approached. "Why couldn't Negi see this? It's as bright as day out here," She muttered. She took in the area completely; it was full of free-floating lights of a multi-color variety, and the atmosphere had a nice calming effect to it.

Asuna closed her eyes, but when she did, instead of the usual darkness (or bright red) that followed, she could still see; as far as she could see she was surrounded by swirling colors and other assorted bright lights. When she opened her eyes, the odd, swirling colors remained. The difference was the appearance of an odd girl who looked no more than twenty or so.

The girl was dressed in an odd garb that Asuna automatically associated with magic; the fact that she wielded an odd looking staff only supported her theory. The woman's hair and eyes were green and she had the most serene look on her face.

-

Negi watched Asuna walk into the clearing. He followed her, looking around. He couldn't really see any thing special; there was no glow of any sort that Asuna had mentioned; if it wasn't for his light spell it would have been as dark as any other moonless night. He shook his head and waited for Asuna to do something. He was surprised when she suddenly fell over.

"Eh! Asuna!" He cried out as he ran over to her. "What's going on? What happened to you?" He held up her head, but almost dropped her with shock. Her eyes were glowing brightly and she seemed to be in a trance. "Asuna, wake up!" He shook her a few times and sighed when nothing happened. He magically enhanced his strength before picking up the girl and hopping onto his wand to carry her back to their room.

---

Ranma finished up the last of his traveling pack. He would be gone before anyone else woke; to find newer ways to train, he would obviously have to travel…He began thinking of all the people who could possibly help him in his studies of the martial arts.

Ryouga was a given, being the only rival Ranma was able to go all out on; Touya had explained that most of his and his brother's fighting was based off of the energy from Chaos Emeralds, so until he learned how to use one of those things they were out; The Sailor Senshi were out by default, being the ones he wanted to challenge…Where could he go to learn magic? There had to be someone in town who could train him in magic…

'Oh well, I'll figure that out later,' He nodded, satisfied with it and was about to take a step out of the house when a voice called up to him.

"Wheeeeere do you think you're going -desu?"

"Oh," Ranma blinked, turning around. A positively livid doll was standing behind him with her arms crossed. "I had totally forgotten about you, Suiseiseki."

"But we only met yesterday morning, how can you forget so fast?" She asked angrily.

"Ah…"

"Well, it's not important -desu. But where are you going -desu?"

"…I'm going to see someone."

"Then you wouldn't mind bringing Suiseiseki along for a quick visit, would you?"

"E-eh?"

"Good! Then," Suiseiseki pulled an equally packed looking bag from nowhere and tossed it onto his own.

"Gaaah!" Ranma balanced himself as best he could with the added weight. It wasn't the weight that was his problem; but his center of gravity had shifted again and he needed to apply a bit more force to his legs than before. "What are you doing?"

"Suiseiseki has to stay near her medium or she'll run out of energy. So, Suiseiseki is doing the only, obvious thing to do and following the pathetic human wherever he goes -desu!"

"Great…just what I needed…a straggler…" He sighed and looked at the doll. "Listen, you know, I'm going to be doing martial arts training with Ryouga; this could be really dangerous you know, especially for a doll. Can you even use martial arts?"

"If you mean physical fighting, no -desu. It is not advised for a Rozen Maiden to engage in such...however, I am armed with several magical abilities that grant me protection from physical harm -desu." She said.

"Okay…" Ranma sighed. "I guess you're with me…"

-

The sun had yet to rise, yet the sky was already somewhat lit and becoming brighter by the minute. The wind was still and the air was warm, perfect for anyone out for an early-morning stroll.

"Eh, Ryouga, practicing this early I see," Ranma said from the entrance to Ryouga's yard. Ryouga was going through a kata in the yard as his younger sister watched.

"Well of course," The boy started without interrupting his kata at all. "One must get up early in the morning to defeat the fabled Ranma Saotome,"

"Oh, now I'm a fable?"

"I thought fables usually involved talking animals or something," Rie piped in. Ryouga fell out of his kata.

"Semantics, semantics," Ryouga recovered and went back into his kata. "Eh, Ranma. Where are you going? Don't you have school or something?"

"I'm going out for a loooong training trip, and you're coming with me," Ranma said.

"Why am I going with you, and why go on a training trip when the strongest people in the world are here in Tokyo? You'd get better faster by dueling other people here rather than anything else."

"Oh, well," Ranma blinked. "I guess you have a point…" he chuckled humorlessly. "…At any rate, it's impossible for me to go back to the Tendo Dojo,"

"Huh? Why?"

---

"Ah…who are you?" Asuna asked.

"My name is Martel."

"Okay…but…"

"Asuna…"

"What I meant was, who are you? What is all of this?"

"This is inside of the great tree of mana, Yggdrasill…"

"Yggdrasill? That's the name of the tree?" The woman nodded her affirmative.

"Asuna!"

Suddenly, her eyes opened.

-

"Asuna!" Negi called out. Asuna's eyes shot open and she looked up.

"Negi?"

"Oh, good," Negi sighed in relief. "I seriously thought you were not going to wake up…Asuna, what happened to you?"

"Uh…nothing happened, I was asleep!" She stammered nervously.

"Well, did something happen in your dream?" He asked curiously.

"…No…" She said. "Why?"

"You mean…you haven't noticed?" He asked.

"Haven't noticed what?" She asked worriedly. When Negi held up a mirror, she blinked and took it. "What am I looking for?"

"Your ears. Shouldn't be so hard to find them." He took a few steps back when she blinked again.

"H…Wh…WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!"

---

"And so, you believe you can't go back to the Tendo Dojo until you have defeated the Senshi?"

"Or at least their leader,"

"Why, again?" Ranma sighed.

"Because. I'm supposed to be the protector of the dojo and the strongest fighter around, yet there are nine girls parading around who could all single handedly smack me into the ground with little or no effort."

"Well duh, Ranma. They're super heroes. Who defeat monsters like Saffron on a daily basis, and have saved the world more than _once_."

"Yeah but…I…"

"Ranma Saotome never loses, Ranma Saotome is the best, blah blah blah," Ryouga rolled his eyes. "Bah, from what I remember, in our last duel, I had you on the ropes when I was forced to leave."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Now that's more like it," Ryouga smirked, jumping back. "Let's see how bad you've gotten from moping around about being so weak,"

"I only found out yesterday, when I went to go see that huge energy surge," Ranma intoned.

"What? You mean when all that Ice was there?"

"Yeah," Ranma said. "I didn't see you there…"

"It's not important," Ryouga grunted. "Defend yourself!" With that, he lunged at Ranma with a fist cocked back. When he made it to Ranma, however, He instead lifted his foot up and went into a forward kick that Ranma almost missed. The pig-tailed boy caught his opponent's foot and tried to use his momentum against him, but the lost boy would have none of that. He brought his other foot up into the air and savagely kicked his opponent in the side of the head with enough force to level a building.

Ranma let go of his opponent's foot and was sent flying into a fence, destroying a section of it completely. Ranma stood up and shook his head, knowing he'd feel that later.

"What's the matter? Are you really this weak, Ranma? I thought you were better than this," Ryouga snickered. Ranma glared at him then merely grinned when he realized what Ryouga was doing. 'My own tactic,'

"Heh, I was taking it easy on you in front of your sister, Ryouga," Ranma said. He brought up his stance again.

Both boys narrowed their eyes. Both lunged at each other with ferocity only seen in the most vicious of brawlers. Ryouga came from below with an uppercut that Ranma dodged before going in with several jabs at near Amaguriken speed for his opponent's solar plexus. Ryouga took each hit with only minimal negative affect and grunted as he tried to counter. Ranma sensed the incoming attack and immediately separated from his opponent, leaving Ryouga's fist to pass through air.

They both looked at each other with appraising looks before smirking.

"I think it's time to get serious," Ranma stated.

"That was a fun little warm up," Ryouga agreed.

Nearby, Rie, who was watching from the roof, gawked at what she was hearing. "That…was a warm up?" She said aloud. 'I can't believe I tried to _fight_ that thing. Good thing he didn't consider me a serious threat,' She sighed.

Both boys manifested their battle auras. Surprisingly, Ryouga's matched Ranma's in color; Ryouga seemed to be somehow overflowing with confidence rather than his usual unending depression.

"That's new, but I won't question it," Ranma said as small rocks nearby began floating around the two. The air around them crackled with so much energy that literal sparks could be seen flying around them. They narrowed their eyes once more while surveying the other.

Suddenly, in a speed that Rie couldn't comprehend, the distance between the two had closed in under a second. The two were trading blows that could barely be seen- and seemed to actually be getting faster. After a few seconds, Rie swore she could see the shockwaves generated by each blow the two landed. There was a humming sound in the air as the two broke the sound barrier.

At this point, she could definitely see the shockwaves generated by each blow they landed- fist met fist, foot met foot, or they just took a hit. She shook her head in denial of what she was seeing; surely this was some drug-induced dream! Her brother suddenly coming home and revealing himself to be one of the greatest martial artists in the world, his rival visiting with some sob story that segued into the two of them fighting in what appeared to be a life or death battle…

---

"Ah, Asuna-san, how's it look now?" Negi held up a mirror to her.

"They're not the same!" Asuna whined. "They'll never be the same!" Kotarou yawned at the girl's expression.

"Get over it, Onee-san," He said. "It's not so bad."

"You say that because you've had your ears forever!" She yelled angrily. "You don't know what it's like to be normal and then suddenly NOT be normal!"

"No, but you would know that better than anyone, wouldn't you?" The hanyou snorted. "From what I recall, Negi almost literally dragged you, kicking and screaming, into the magic world. This should be nothing in comparison," He crossed his arms.

"This is completely different! My humanity is in question here!" She said angrily.

"Asuna-san, please, calm down! You're calling attention to yourself!" Negi said. This had the desired effect and Asuna merely sighed as she leaned against her suitcase. "Now, the spell to hide your ears will work on anyone without a high sensitivity to magic," Negi said. "And in the case we should meet such a person, they won't really care about it. So please, just calm down."

"Figures…I turn into a friggen' elf and you treat it like it's something that happens every day…" the girl lamented, teary-eyed.

"Cough…Although I don't know why your ears were suddenly elongated, but I'm sure it'll reverse itself in due time," He said seriously. "So please, please try to ignore it for the time being."

"How can I ignore it when I hear everything this much-" She held her hands far apart, "better than I could before?"

"You could-"

"Get over it, like I said," Kotarou snorted.

"Listen, gaki-"

"You're so noisy," Kotarou sighed. "Listen, our train's here. Let's just go already." He was the first to get on the train and Negi sighed before taking both his and Asuna's suitcases into the train. Asuna immediately followed.

Asuna fumed/moped in silence while Negi sat nervously between his friend and rival, and Kotarou just relaxed.

"Say, Kotarou, you ever been to Tokyo before?" Negi asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Yeah, once."

"Oh really? What'd you do?"

"Killed a couple'a yakuza who thought they could use me like some animal," He said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"I…I see," Negi laughed nervously with his hand behind his head before sighing and looking down at the ground.

It was looking to be a looooooong train ride.

---

Ranma and Ryouga finally separated, both panting. Clothes torn, knuckles bloodied, and sporting numerous bruises where hits had gotten in, they both grunted and grit their teeth, clinging to the last vestiges of their energy. Neither one was willing to stand down…yet neither one was capable of standing up.

They both fell backwards, unconscious. Rie shook her head as she observed the massive carnage that had been introduced to the front of her house. "They're going to have to fight on someone else's yard next time...sheesh, for thirty seconds, that sure was…something." She muttered. She leapt down from the roof, only to be slammed in the head by a large wooden chest. She sailed through the air and landed on her back.

"Ranma, is everything alright?" Cried out a voice. "Oh no, what's this -desu? They've killed each other -desu!" Rie blinked and looked up at the floating box that hit her.

"Eh…"

"What am I to do now? He was my only hope to get Souseiseki back -desu!"

"Hey…"

"Oh, woe is me-"

"YO!" The voice suddenly stopped and the box angled so that whatever was sitting on top or inside of it could look down at her. Suiseiseki blinked as she noticed the girl under her.

"They're not dead, just unconscious. Trust me, they'll both be all better by at least the day after tomorrow," She rose to her feet. "They probably haven't ever done that before and didn't know their limits. It's not something experienced martial artists often do, but hey, we all make mistakes," She walked over to grab her brother and his friend before toting them both over a shoulder into the house. "Man, I hope they're both willing to teach me some of that stuff…"

Suiseiseki watched, as the ten-year-old looking girl effortlessly carried both nearly grown boys into the house.

"…"

---

Ryoko sighed as she watched the professor monitor various computer screens and devices.

"So, you're certain it was the same kind of energy that appeared when I did..."

"Quite," He nodded.

"That means it's possible someone's here to find me,"

"Probable,"

"Doesn't that mean we should be out, actively looking for them?"

"No," He said. "Unfortunately. We can't track them now, so it's impossible to find them. Possibly the next time they use their energy, since you know what it is, you could probably get there fast enough to intercept them,"

"I guess that makes sense," The woman sighed. "So until then…"

"You get to remain my trusty lab-assistant," He said cheerfully.

"Uh-huh," She said with a fake smile. "Swell."

"Ryoko," The scientist started, turning to face her. "We still don't know the extent of your abilities or biology. So far, you've demonstrated super human strength, the ability to fly, phase through material, teleportation and energy manipulation. My more recent studies have shown that you have the capability for limited telepathy, or possibly a telepathic link to one or more persons, although I haven't seen you use anything like it yet. Unfortunately, I still haven't been able to detect the reason for your amnesia…and I likely won't be able to, as I wasn't able to get a scan of your brain before you were put into your current state."

"But, do you think I'll be able to eventually remember everything?"

"It's possible. The people from your home world might have adequate technology for such a thing, but I can't do anything to help you," He sighed. "I'm sorry, really, I am."

The woman looked put down. "That's okay. I'm sure they'll do something again real soon,"

"I certainly hope so," Shiouji honestly said. 'The oddest part is that there was no space-travel device found with her. Unless she can fly through space, and at a speed suitable for inter-galactic travel, at which she shouldn't have left a crater, then either she was left here by accident, or…' He narrowed his eyes as a once unthought-of of possibility sprang to mind.

'Or she was already here and someone else has come. But what could have possibly given her amnesia?'

---

Akane growled as she crushed the paper she'd just read. "Dammit, Ranma, going off on his own like that…"

"Oh well, he did say he'd be back," Nabiki said indifferently as she filed her nails in a chair.

"He could have at least told us face to face,"

"Why, so you could go with him?"

"Of course! You'd think he'd know by now that I hate getting left behind!"

"You know how he is about girls," Nabiki drawled exasperatedly.

"Well yeah, but still, I'm his iinazuke!"

"One of," Nabiki corrected.

"But…" Akane growled. 'I'm the one he said he loved…doesn't that count for anything?'

"Eh, come on sis," Nabiki closed her laptop, ready to leave. "We'll be late if we mope around for too long,"

"I'm not moping!" Akane growled as she tossed the note behind. "Just..." she growled again and stomped out of the house. "You don't understand!"

"Eh," Nabiki blinked. She shrugged and followed the other girl out. "But Akane, you don't understand something either," She said as she easily caught up with the other girl.

"Oh, and what's that?"

"Ranma is, and always has been much better than you. The few times he offered to train you, neither of you took the other seriously, so it just wasn't going to work. If you'd found someone to train you to his level sometime when he'd shown up, you'd probably be closer to him in skill now too. So for you to jump in with him right now would be impossible, because he'd have to bring you up to speed."

"But who could train me? Ukyo's art is based on food, Genma's the one who taught Ranma to think the way he is, father just doesn't seem to care anymore…"

"Well, how about Ryouga?"

"Uh, trust me; there's no way I could survive- I mean, train with Ryouga," Akane said.

"Hmm? What do you mean 'survive'?"

"Well…it's possible, since Akari-chan came along, that it could work, but Ryouga's always acted kind of…strange around me," Akane said.

"Eh? So you did notice…"

"Well yes. I noticed a long time ago how he felt, but…I realized then and there that I couldn't survive Ryouga's treatment…and there was Ranma to consider, so…"

"But you don't mind if Ryouga is with Akari? How would someone with no martial arts training at all be better for him than you?"

"Well…I dunno…they just seem to be a better match for some reason…Besides, Akari really likes him for some reason," She said.

"I wonder why," Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Anyway, since Ryouga's out, why not go to…" Nabiki paused in her thinking. "Mousse?"

"Mousse?"

"Yeah, he's the only without a grudge against you,"

"Have you already forgotten how we met Mousse!"

"Err, well," Nabiki stuttered. "He's the only one I can think of who's not out to kill you or marry you. And trust me, if he disagrees, I could think of many ways to convince him to train you," Nabiki smiled, waving a finger.

"Like?"

"For one, you could defend your 'Male' better, although knocking Shampoo out would earn you a kiss of death, but I think you're smarter than Ranma in that regard. Secondly, the whole Amazon logic is based on females being stronger, so maybe if he thinks that if he can make you stronger than Ranma, Ranma would be attracted to you,"

"I don't think Mousse is that stupid,"

"Oh well. There's the matter of debts he owes as well," She sighed.

"That might work," Akane nodded. "But are you sure there isn't anyone else?"

"Let's see," Nabiki started with a thoughtful look on her face. "Neither Cologne or Shampoo would train you, I'm sure you'd rather die than learn from Happosai or Kuno-"

"Enough, enough," Akane sighed. "But Mousse specializes with weapons, hidden weapons to be exact. What could he teach me?"

"Well, hidden weapons for one."

"But my style is mainly hand to hand combat," Akane said.

"You wave that mallet around enough. But he's an Amazon; I'm sure he knows more than one way to fight. And besides, You've already gotten most of the concepts for most of Ranma's techniques down; after all, weren't you there when he trained for the Hiryu Shouten Ha or the Shishi Hokudan, or even when he and Kumon used his father's forbidden techniques? And I'm quite sure I could get Ryouga to tell me whatever I wanted to know about toughening you up, especially if he knows it's for you."

"Hmm, yeah…" Akane stopped walking. "Nabiki…"

"Eh? What is it?" Nabiki looked back at her younger sister.

"You're taking this really seriously," Akane smiled. "Thanks." Nabiki winked.

"That's what sisters are for, right?" _'Besides, you need to find an alternative to smashing all of those bricks and dummies. That stuff all costs money.'_

---

Hirohata Satoshi smiled as he touched down in Misaki City with Kimura Aiko right behind. The former was wearing exotic clothes. His sky blue shirt had no sleeves, the front was decorated with three triangulated spherical ruby-colored jewels. His lower half was covered with some plain looking pants. He wielded a ruby tipped staff as well.

Aiko was wearing a plain shirt and some jeans.

From the roof of a building that seemed to be generating a massive amount of mana, the two overlooked the peaceful looking city.

"It's really too bad we can't really see where the Flame Haze are," He sighed.

"Shut up, you lazy idiot. If we do an unrestricted spell, they should notice right away,"

"You know how hard those are for normal people," Satoshi frowned.

"Which is why you should get to work right away," She frowned, crossing her arms.

"But if I do that, I'll get the wrong kind of attention. Instead, we should start looking for clues," He smiled again.

"But Flame Haze never stay in one place for too long," She frowned. "By the time _you_ find anything, they'll be halfway to New Zealand,"

"Oh, calm down. The fact that there are three here, and neither are at each other's throat is significant enough."

"What does that have to do with anything? You know it's possible for Flame Haze to get along, even if rare,"

"True, but…they've been here for quite a while, haven't they? Flame Haze don't usually stay in one place overnight, let alone a few weeks a month even. I doubt they're going anywhere soon." He turned around and walked to the center of the roof.

"Now, let's find out what's so special about this building," He tapped the staff on the ground twice and a magic circle began sketching itself, the point of origin being where his staff hit the ground. Once it was complete, it began glowing teal. "You coming?" Aiko rolled her eyes and walked over to the circle. Immediately, the two began sinking into the roof. They appeared in a room and slowly floated down to the floor.

"Why, it's a Haridan," Satoshi rubbed his chin. "This is certainly unexpected. If I modify it, we should be able to easily find the Flame Haze." He blinked and peered at the three dimensional model of the town they were in.

"Satoshi look at it though," She said. "There's a torch down there." She pointed.

"Hmm, you're right. If there was a Tomogara attack recently, though, there'd be a lot more than just one."

"Maybe it's just the last one to disappear." Aiko said.

"Possibly," Satoshi intoned. "In any event," He pointed the end of his staff at the Haridan and his eyes began glowing. The Haridan began glowing red instead of its usual green. Three human looking shapes immediately lit up on the Haridan. "Not surprising," he said. "Two of the Flame Haze are guarding that Torch. One of them seems to just be taking it easy, though." He rubbed his chin again. "Must be a Mistes, then…"

"A Mistes?"

"Yes, it's got some kind of treasure inside of it, like a Hougu or something," He waved it off. "Well then, I guess since we know where they are, we can formulate a plan of some sort." He rubbed his partner's shoulder. "There now, was it so bad to do as I said?"

"If we had done what _I_ said, we'd have found them already." She growled.

"But that's no fun at all," he said, his hand moving lower and lower.

"You and your fun," She groaned. "By the way, if your hand moves any lower, you can say goodbye to it,"

"What are you suggesting?" He pulled his hand away fairly quickly. "That I- fondling your sweet- uh, I am but a humble mage," He turned around and started walking away. "How could you think I was capable of such a thing?"

"Moron," She groaned into her hand.

---

"_Young one, you must awaken,"_

'Eh?'

"_Young one, the Senshi have been mislead as to what the future of the kingdom should be…"_

'Why in the world does that sound really bad to me?'

"_It is time for the knights of the Astral to reunite,"_

"Knights of the Astral? What the heck is that?"

"_The future of the Moon Kingdom depends on you and your fellow knights,"_

"Wait a minute. Moon Kingdom? What the heck?"

"_Heed my call…awaken…"_

"What in the world are you talking about? What is this Moon Kingdom? Why does its future depend on me?"

-

Sakurada Jun shot up, eyes wide, breathing and sweating heavily. He instinctively reached for his glasses and put them on, trying to wake up. When he finally opened his eyes, however, his eyes were blurry. 'Huh?' He raised them slightly and blinked. The glasses remained the only spot where his vision was blurred. "What the hell?" He took them off and looked around his room. It was 7:00 AM. He shrugged and set his glasses back down, getting out of his bed.

"Jun," called out an impatient voice.

"Sh-Shinku," Jun turned to face the doll in question. "What?" The doll walked over to him and stared him in the face for a good five seconds.

She slapped him hard, eliciting a shocked cry. "You overslept. My Tea-Time has come and passed. However, I am willing to make an exception this once. Go now, and you might be forgiven."

"Me, forgiven!" Jun rubbed his face in irritation. "You're the one who took up residence in my house, started ordering my sister and I around, and YOU'RE willing to forgive me because I didn't wake up right when you did?"

The doll sighed. "Jun, it seems you still do not know your place," She said, slightly turning her head around. "It is regrettable, as well…"

-

"OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"

-

"Stupid doll, ordering me around," Jun mumbled as he poured Shinku's cup of tea. He roughly handed the doll her cup and sat down.

After a taste, the doll nodded. "You have improved somewhat," She said. "It is not lukewarm this time. For that alone, I might have forgiven you for your earlier misconduct. However…" She sipped it again. "It has an unexpected taste to it. I do not believe this is the flavor I requested." After draining the cup, she set it down. "Try again."

"Stupid doll…"

---

Kotarou opened one eye. Both Asuna and Negi were sleep, leaning on each other. He closed his eye and snorted.

"Feh."

---


	6. Full Circle

Disclaimer: The author of this story owns none of the series, characters, or locations mentioned in this story unless stated otherwise.

""Speech

''Thought

-Text- Telepathy

Note: I realized that I made a mistake in the earlier chapters with Sailor Moon's and Sailor Chibi-Moon's attacks; I'll fix it after I re-watch/read the parts of the series that are blurry. Sorry if I pissed anyone off the way I did MoonstoneCabbit with Ryoko's abilities. (I promise I'll do it as soon as I get some money!)

Keh, damn formatting errors.

----

"_Young one… awaken,"_

----

"This will do," Satoshi nodded as he dragged his staff along the ground. 'That took a couple of hours, but it was worth it,' He reached into his shirt and pulled out a card. -Aiko, I'm done on my end. Where are you?-

-Still scoping out the city. Looks like this place has been through a lot in the last month, although the place was tuned recently, so it's harder to notice certain things.-

-I don't think any of the Flame Haze here are tuners. That means that it's possible that there were, at one time, 4 Flame Haze co-existing here. That's unheard of.-

-That means…-

- Hmm…Only one torch, has three Flame Haze guarding it…That doesn't mean so much; it's a obviously a valuable Hougu, but when you think about it, it's all alone and the flame doesn't appear to be getting any weaker. It's got to be Reiji Maigo.-

-Reiji Maigo?-

-It's an energy generator. You know how torches usually burn out and disappear in a day or two, right? This one has been here for longer than that. The only possible explanation is Reiji Maigo.-

-Oh? Well, I guess that's kind of odd.-

-Huh?-

-Something like that would be viewed as very valuable, correct? So why are they just sitting in one place?-

-That's right- the Reiji Maigo would attract Tomogara likes bees to honey. Why haven't they destroyed the torch yet?-

-Eh?-

-That would make it re-spawn in another, random torch.-

-Oh. Well, is it really that important?-

-Yes! If these Flame Haze are to come with us, I doubt they'd want to leave behind the torch, and only trouble can come of the Reiji Maigo. We'd have weekly Tomogara attacks at Mahora and the entire non-magical student body would be reduced to torches in a matter of days.-

-Then, do we have to destroy that torch?-

-Seems like it. Listen, I'm going to intercept them. I want you to be prepared for anything.-

-

Sakai Yuuji stared blankly out of the window of his classroom. Today's scenery was the same boring stuff as it always was. 'I made my decision to leave Misaki some time ago, but I haven't been able to figure out what I should do. I can't just disappear, that'll cause mom and lots of others to worry…unless…they erase all traces of my existence… Hey, what's that?'

Yuuji turned to the front of the class where the teacher was giving his lecture. He blinked and tapped Shana on the shoulder. She looked up at him from her notes with a confused expression until he pointed at the front of the class.

Suddenly, right behind the teacher, through a rip in _reality-itself _(as far as Yuuji could tell) a man walked out and closed it behind him. The entire class stared as a Japanese man dressed in typical western mage clothing appeared with a loud bang. He blinked and sweat dropped.

"Magi..!" Shana's voice rang out in alarm.

"Somehow, I did not expect to find you in a classroom." Students just stared at him with blank looks and the Teacher turned around upon realizing there was a man standing behind him.

"Who are you? Why are you interrupting my class?" The teacher demanded.

"Um, excuse me," The magi ignored him, narrowing his eyes and scanning the class. When his gaze fell upon Yuuji, he nodded. "That's the one," He said cheerfully. "Don't worry, in a minute none of you will remember this," He held up his jewel tipped staff and pointed it at Yuuji. The gem on its tip glowed red before a thin red laser flew at the boy's head. Everyone jumped out of the way and the laser impacted the back of the room, causing a small explosion.

Satoshi gave no time to rest as he began rapidly firing the lasers at Yuuji who barely dodged them all. Shana jumped at him and brought her foot up, which he dodged as he jumped to the side.

"Who are you?" She jumped at him again and he jumped back again. "This is not going as I'd planned," He muttered. 'She's probably just some hot-shot martial artist, I have to take it easy on her,' He narrowed his eyes as he dodged a potentially lethal strike. He jumped up to the wall and looked around the room. All but four students had moved to the back of the room, and the ones that had were watching with various reactions. The girl, the torch, and two other boys were watching him warily.

He hardened his expression and pushed off the wall, flying at an incredible speed towards the one called Sakai Yuuji.

-

Yuuji dodged the man's attack again with a grim expression on his face. 'He's definitely after me…I have to lead him out of here or the rest of the class will get hurt!' He watched Shana attempt an attack on the man and seized his chance to bolt.

'Good idea, since we're not using a Fuzetsu,' Shana mentally saluted Yuuji and re-doubled her efforts. She was beginning to become irritated; even without the Nieteno no Shana, she should have pulverized the puny western mage already. It would be just their luck that the Reiji Maigo not only became the target of Tomogara, but powerful Magi as well. Suddenly, a magically empowered fist crashed into her face, sending her flying backwards, through several desks and towards the other students, all of whom parted for her.

'Dammit…'

"Hirai-san!" Several shocked voices called out in surprise.

-

"If you're after Sakai-kun, you'll have to go after us!" One of the two boys that still opposed him declared as they both attacked.

'Hmm…together, they're not as good as that one girl was.' Satoshi blocked every attack from the two with one arm and was about to paralyze the two when the girl flew from the side with a jump kick. 'One of the Flame Haze was guarding him when I checked the Haridan. Is it possible one of these three…No. That would be an insult to Flame Haze everywhere. Neither of these three are Flame Haze.' He narrowed his eyes and let his fist fill with magical energy before punching the ground. There was an explosion of energy that destroyed the floor, sending debris into the room below them and wreckage around the room. All three opposing fighters had been knocked back as well.

'I'll bet the Flame Haze will be pissed when they find out I didn't use a Fuzetsu. Oh well, I wasn't counting on that girl having such reflexes. If they know of the Torch's identity, they'll undoubtedly know who his friends are…Hmm, the Torch is going outside.' Satoshi seized that moment to jump out of the window, shocking most of the students.

"Damn!" Shana struggled to stand and realized that Tanaka and Satou were unconscious. "I should be using more power than this," She growled as she followed the man out of the window, her dark hair brightening and assuming a crimson color.

-

'I'm almost outside…' Yuuji thought to himself as he ran towards the exit of the school. 'There! Now I can-' Suddenly, the man from before landed in front of him and he had to skid to a stop. Unfortunately, his skid led him right into the man's chest. The man quickly wrapped an arm around him to prevent him from escaping. 'Uh oh…'

"Dammit, that was far more trouble than I'd intended-" He suddenly jumped up to avoid being impaled by the Nieteno no Shana. "What the hell?!" He'd dropped Yuuji and now was back to square one. He looked at his opponent and had to blink. "Red hair, fiery eyes…Dammit, you're a Flame Haze!"

-

This was certainly an unfavorable development. One of the earlier punks_ was_ a Flame Haze, after all. He narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing, procrastinating around here for? Why haven't you already destroyed this Mystes?"

-

"That's none of your business!" Shana blushed as she leapt at him with her katana at the ready. Suddenly, a woman dressed in a traditional Kunoichi outfit literally appeared before her and intercepted her attack with a Kunai. "W-what? Kunoichi?"

"Aiko, perfect timing," the mage smiled. "Although it looks like the torch can't fight, Two against one still isn't fair," He chuckled.

"So we're fighting them? What the hell for?"

"Just trust me on this one," He said, narrowing his eyes.

"Yuuji!" Shana yelled, reaching into her cloak. She unsheathed the Blutsauger and tossed it to Yuuji, who caught it one handed. "Remember your training!" Yuuji nodded and looked seriously at the mage.

"Hmm," Satoshi narrowed his eyes at the Blutsauger. 'Her cloak acts as some kind of inter-dimensional storage device. A nice touch, really.' He looked over at his partner as she and the Flame Haze jumped away from each other. "Let's end this as quickly as possible. Don't kill her, though."

"Of course." Without warning, Aiko leapt at Shana, who barely had the time to lift up her sword in defense. The Ninja was using a kunai in each hand, but kept them sheathed until use- one over her shoulder and one above her back.

'Where have I seen that style of Ninjutsu before..?' Shana thought to herself as she pressed a fierce attack on the Kunoichi.

Yuuji tried to remember how to put his power of existence into Blutsauger. He didn't want to use too much, as it could literally end his existence with him being a torch, but it was the only thing he had on his magic wielding foe. He tried to extend some power of existence into the Blutsauger and swung the sword in a wide arc. As predicted his foe blocked the sword with the staff. 'Got him!'

Satoshi shouted in surprise as several sword wounds opened up on his body. 'Dammit! I know that sword! That's Blutsauger! Has to be!' He jumped away and rubbed his nose. 'Damn, Blutsauger is way to large to just dodge, and blocking it is even more dangerous. None of this adds up…why would the Flame Haze be protecting the Reiji Maigo? And why teach the torch how to fight, let alone give him such a powerful weapon?'

He let go of the staff and it levitated while quickly shrinking down to the size of a pin, which he stuck in his hair. He cracked his knuckles and grinned at the torch.

"Okay kid, let's try that again," He jumped at Yuuji anticipating an attack from the Blutsauger. Yuuji swung the Blutsauger straight down in a vertical arc, when suddenly, the sword stopped. Satoshi had caught the huge blade.

Since it didn't count as blocking, catching it meaning that it was striking his flesh- he took no damage and easily ripped it from the boy's grasp. Satoshi turned the huge sword around and gripped the hilt with one-handed ease.

"YUUJI!" Shana suddenly ignored her opponent and rushed to Yuuji with speed even she didn't know she had. She was in front of the boy in less than a second, surprising everyone present.

"Ah…I'm sorry, Shana-"

"It's not your fault, idiot!" Flames engulfed her sword and she growled at the Magi and his partner. 'I can't take on both of them by myself,' She grabbed Yuuji without warning, and a huge burst of flames ignited two fiery wings. With one swing of her Katana, a huge swirling wave of flame flew at the two. Both got out of its way, but when the flames dissipated, the two were gone.

"Ne, Sa-kun," Aiko started, annoyed. "What just happened?"

"They ran away."

"But you interrupted two very _normal_ classes with your outburst of magic and the like."

"I don't think any of them expected to see a Kunoichi today either," He countered. They both turned towards the school and blinked upon realizing most of the people from the classes they'd interrupted were staring at them.

"Shouldn't we erase their memories?" Aiko asked seriously.

"No. I do not believe, in this new day and age, that such a thing will be necessary." He turned and started walking. "Her reaction was very odd. We need to find out why they're letting the Reiji Maigo run around when it's obvious where it is."

---

"_The time has come…"_

---

Nabiki nodded as she had her lackey reiterate what she discovered that morning.

"So the real reason Kuno was absent today is unknown, but he called in sick, and according to our 'out-of-school' sources, he's not home…" She closed her laptop and picked it up, walking away.

"Are you going to investigate the matter personally?" The girl asked.

"Of course. Kuno rarely gets sick. And to allow someone like Kuno to wander around unaccounted for is just asking for trouble."

"What shall I tell the staff?"

"Whatever you want, really," She waved her crony off. "You know how they are with me." The girl bowed slightly and walked away. Nabiki left the grounds of Furinkan High and began walking with a brisk pace. She sighed; toting the laptop around the way she was was beginning to become annoying. "I should have gotten a bag for it. Just a regular backpack would do me no good…"

Nabiki took in the familiar scenery as she walked down the street. Her destination wasn't far enough away for a train and she didn't feel like taking a bus. Besides, walking could do a body good.

-

Kuno stared at the clouds, deep in thought. He was sitting on a large rock, overlooking a construction site. The building that they had destroyed the previous week was being rebuilt, but several modifications were to be made in honor of the Senshi. The day was good; the temperature was just right and he wasn't in school. The nefarious sorcerer Saotome had yet to show his face, and the mood was perfect for Haiku. Oddly enough, Tatewaki Kuno could not bring himself to write. The verses would not come, and while the mood was right, he could not be inspired.

"Oi, Kuno-kun," Nabiki called out. He didn't turn at all as she sat by him on his boulder. "What in the world is going on? Why are you dressed normally?"

"…" He remained silent.

"Hey, answer me," She said impatiently. "That all of a sudden, Kuno Tatewaki dresses normally and isn't at school spouting his poetry and challenging my sister's reluctant fiancé is somewhat… disquieting."

When he didn't answer, she sighed and looked up at the clouds. "What are you looking at?" She asked. All she could see were some clouds, the moon, and the blue sky. When Kuno's arm raised and his finger pointed at the moon, she blinked. "What, haven't you ever seen the moon out in the day before?" She asked teasingly.

"Of course." Kuno's arm fell to its original position. "However…as of last night, the moon has been a disturbing sight for me."

"A…disturbing?" She tilted her head, a quizzical expression on her face. It wasn't as if the Kunos ever made sense, but this was new. Even the MOON was beginning to offend Kuno. She shrugged and stood up. "Well…"

"Wait." He looked at her and she froze. There was a look in his eyes that she had never seen before, one that was full of seriousness. Not the exaggerated, profound look she'd always seen before, but…

"What?" She asked, turning her head slightly, suspicious.

"I will tell you what happened, but it is something you must promise me that you will not tell anyone else."

"That comes with a price, Kuno-kun."

"I'll pay you when I'm finished," He said, turning back towards the moon. She had to do a double take.

'Shouldn't he be saying something like "I will grant you your fee when my tale is completed" or something?' Interested, she agreed and joined him on the rock.

"It begins like this…"

---

Ranma groaned and slowly sat up. "What the heck? Where's the commercial liner that decided to crash into me..?" He asked in obvious pain.

"Right here, pal," Ryouga piped up. Ranma looked up and spotted the boy, opposite himself in the Hibiki Boy's room.

"Eh?" Ranma tried to remember the last thing that had happened to him. He and Ryouga were sparring… when suddenly they tried to use their new speed to fight. "Ughhh, remind me never to do that again," Ranma groaned again.

"We have to get used to moving that fast," Ryouga said. "Also, it eats up our chi so fast that there's almost no point to it."

"Yeah. It would definitely be useful against the Senshi." Ranma started, before looking out the window. "…If I could just beat all ten into submission before one of them lands a it and my thirty second time limit runs out." He snorted. "Well, Touya did explain how to do it without eating up my chi so fast, but I wasn't quite able to get it," He sighed.

"Oh? Maybe I can help you figure it out," Ryouga offered. Ranma snorted.

"Yeah right, pig-face. If I can't figure it out, you've got a snowball's chance in hell," He snickered.

"Pig-face? Who's a pig-face, you girly-girl?"

"What?!" Ranma growled. "I'm not a girl!" Ranma yelled.

"And I'm not a pig!" Ryouga shouted back just as loud.

"But you seem to enjoy being one so much, especially when it makes me look bad, _P-chan_." He sneered.

"Oh yeah? Well you're totally shameless when it comes to your girl-form flirting with people so you can get food or whatever it is you're after. Is that how you get your jollies, you sick freak?"

"Look who's talking, mister bed-time-doll!"

"All you have to do is look in the mirror," Ryouga laughed, while crossing his arms.

"I can't get off to my girl form while I'm a girl!" Ranma yelled angrily. "How many times do I have ta say that ta get it inta everyone's thick skulls!"

"Implying that you get off to it while male. Isn't that like getting off to your own sister?"

"NO! And I don't do it, ya sicko!" Ranma returned, red-faced.

"I mean, the cursed form is what you would look like if born that way, although I don't know in Taro's case…"

"Ya idiot, I'm still talkin' to ya!"

"Your Japanese is slipping up, Ranma," Ryouga noted.

"Whatever, porky," Ranma said, crossing his arms.

"Say, Ranma, what's it like being a girl? Do you get the whole package? I mean, the monthlies and everything-" Ranma looked like he was ready to burst.

"Why don't YOU just shut UP 'fore I cut some BACON offa yer back, sausage-boy!"

"You must be on the rag," Ryouga sighed. "I feel sorry for-" He eeped as he dodged a ruthless attack from Ranma. The boy made calming motions with his arms. "Whoa, calm down already! I was just joking!"

"It's too late fer that, porkchop! Tonight's dinner; PORK Ramen!" He screamed as he threw a wild fist at Ryouga's face. Ryouga had to dodge the attack, there was some serious power behind that punch and taking it would have likely broken his skull inwards.

'Damn, he's serious! I was just trying to show him what it feels like-' he paused in thought as he dodged another fatal blow. 'Kami-sama above, the guy's mad!'

"What the HELL is going on in here?!" came a voice from the door. "Why don't you both just CALM DOWN?!" Both boys turned in surprise and eyes went wide as Rie made the last of a throwing motion with a bucket full of water.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-"

The ice-cold water splashed across both of them, instantly triggering the curses and chilling their smaller forms to the bone. Rie stood frozen, staring at the pile of clothes her brother had been wearing previously and the girl that was in Ranma's place.

"Uh…" Ranma blinked and P-chan surfaced from under his clothes. "Ah…I can explain this…"

---

"Ne, the Flame Haze should be around," Satoshi said. "This house seems to be generating an odd aura." The two had switched to their more normal clothes and only bore a minimal resemblance to their formal selves. He knocked on the door and waited for a response. A woman opened the door and he blinked. "Excuse me? Is this the Sakai residence?"

"Yes, it is," the woman smiled. "Can I help you?"

"Ah, yes…I'm the representative of the famous boarding school, Mahora Academy," He started. "My partner and I were sent to investigate some recent going ons and the activity of a Sakai Yuuji," He said.

"My son?" She asked, a curious look replacing the smile. "What do you mean, investigate?"

"Well, as you may know, the Mahora Academy has a very well funded gifted program, and…"

"My son is being considered for your advanced placement program?" The woman asked excitedly.

"Ah, well…yes," The mage answered.

"Ah, well…mister…"

"Hirohata Satoshi," the man bowed. "And my partner is Kimura Aiko." Aiko bowed as well.

-How did you find out their name?-

-Now that…is a secret,-

-Bah.-

"Ah, well Hirohata-san, Yuuji and his friend came home early a few minutes ago, but they left in a hurry," She bowed in apology. "I'm sorry."

"Ah, no, it's quite all right. I don't mind waiting for your son to return, perhaps we can discuss his accomplishments in detail and I can get a better idea of him before we meet," the man offered.

"Ah, I'm sorry, but that's not possible at the moment," She said with a bright smile. "My friend and I are cleaning the house, it would not be fair for me to stop and leave her with all the work,"

"But I insist," Satoshi did his most formal, polite impression.

"And I'm sorry, but I'm just not available,"

"Ah…" He bowed again. "Sakai-dono, please forgive the interruption. If you will excuse us," The two turned around and began walking away.

Chigusa watched the two walk away and closed the door before turning around and walking to the kitchen, where Wilhelmina, Shana, and Yuuji were waiting.

"Now, Yuuji, Hirai-chan…why were those two looking for you?"

"Ah…"

"It is something that is not easily explainable –de arimasu." Carmel spoke up. "However, I believe it is something that you deserve to know –de arimasu." She started.

"Wait, Wilhelmina-san," Yuuji sighed. "Please…let me explain it… alone." Shana shook her head.

"But Yuuji, I want to stay with you for this," She insisted.

"…Alright,"

---

The sun reached its apex in the sky as two high school students conversed over a pile of rubble.

"…The dreams started about a week ago, when I was at my cousin's birthday party. Each time, they were longer and longer, until tonight. Tonight's dream was almost completely different." Kuno turned to look Nabiki straight in the face. "This 'Moon Kingdom' was under attack. The person in my dream, the person who I knew myself to be was devastated. The flourishing world he had left only days before was almost completely ruined. The royal palace was strewn with not only the bodies of the invaders, but those who had so loyally defended it. Even Luna's Tree of life was dying. The Moon itself was dying, Tendo."

He looked back up at the barely visible moon. "The dream ended differently as well. The one whom I had sworn loyalty to, called prince and obeyed thoughtlessly…he killed me. This morning, I woke up clutching my chest. I could still feel where he had stabbed me. I could still _feel_ it. It was…infinitely painful, in more ways than one. He even said that one day I'd understand, but how could I if he was killing me?"

"…" Nabiki stared at him in silence. He had, in detail, described the dreams he'd been having for the entire week. It made sense; his subdued attitude last week was all too easy to explain now. After seeing what he had, even if only in dreams, she was sure no one would be the same. "Well…Kuno-kun…It was only a dream. You said it yourself, you woke up. It can't really hurt you…"

"But what if it all means something?"

"What _could_ it mean?"

"That's what I want to know."

"…You know, Kuno," She started. "A lot of things don't really mean anything. Although it's very odd that you had the same string of dreams for seven days in a row, I can't really say much because I'm not a psychologist or anything. But it's very possible that they mean nothing, nothing at all." She was about to stand up and leave, satisfied, when he stopped her again.

"Wait." He looked at her seriously. "There is one more thing I have to ask of you."

"What?"

"Allow me to see that computer," He said. "I need you to look up something for me when you get up the chance."

"Eh?" She blinked. "Just tell me what it is and I'll add it to your tab."

"No…it's…it's very specific, and I can't quite say it in a way that even I would understand…" She looked at him and sighed before opening her laptop and allowing him to see it. It instantly came out of sleep mode and Kuno touched an Icon on the screen.

"How did you know it was touch sensitive?" She asked.

"What?" He said, confused.

"Uh, never mind," She sighed. As if Kuno would ever be able to tell instantly from looking whether or not it had a touch sensitive screen…He was just so simple minded that the concept of a mouse probably didn't occur to him…

When he was finished, she looked at what he had done. He had opened IE and in the Address/URL bar typed in a series of numbers and dots. She instantly recognized it as a Static IP, the kind that was usually given to a device that would remain permanently connected to the net. "Where did you see that?"

"One of the screens in my dream displayed that number in a similar fashion several times." He said. "I wasn't able to see what it meant, though, because I wasn't in control of the dream."

"I see," She nodded. "Okay, I'll look into this." She turned to walk away when he stopped her again. "What is it this time?" She growled.

"Do you or do you not want payment?" He asked, waving several thousand Yen bills in her face.

"Do want,"

---

"…And when doused with hot water, I turn back," Ranma said as he upended the cup of hot water over himself. Getting the girl Rie to calm down and convince her that they were indeed both Ranma and Ryouga, and not some kind of witch and pig-demon(Rie seemed to be deathly afraid of Ryouga's cursed form for some reason.)

"That's a really messed up curse. Poor aniki," She sighed. "But Ranma, why didn't you use Ryouga to demonstrate the curse?" She asked. Ranma blinked before chuckling. "You remember what happened when you threw that bucket on us?"

"Oh?" She thought back to what had happened. Ranma and Ryouga were both seriously fighting over something, and when she doused them with cold water. Ranma shrank to the busty, petite version of herself and Ryouga…she blushed.

"Yeah, see?" Ranma laughed. "All grown up, aren't you? Most little kids wouldn't mind seeing their older siblings that way,"

"Uh, but that's because _most_ siblings grow up together and often wash each other, _and_ I'm pretty sure that only goes for same sex siblings, unless the younger one is much younger,"

"And how old are you?" He snickered.

"Old enough!" She blushed while yelling.

---

Satoshi sighed as he watched the Haridan from above. The two boys that had been fighting alongside the flame haze earlier (Tanaka Eita and Satou Keisaku if he recalled correctly) had apparently alerted the one inactive flame haze of his presence.

And unfortunately, she, unlike others, had access to a Grimoire, something that would grant even the most magic-less of fools powers they could not begin to imagine. He abhorred what it could do in the hands of a potentially hostile, experienced Flame Haze.

-This is very quickly turning into a bad situation.- He telepathically communicated with his partner. -I honestly did not expect a Flame Haze to defend the Mystes like that, and for their to be more than one here. We were outmatched at two, it's possible we would have to deal with three if we continued our aggressive front,-

-Were you planning to?-

-At first, I wanted to destroy that distractive Reiji Maigo, and then I wanted to test the Flame Haze's power. Unfortunately, they're interpreting it as a legitimate threat.-

-Well what did you_ expect_, moron?-

-Actually, I'm not sure. I thought it was odd for three Flame Haze to be in the city, but for them to all be working together was absolutely unheard of. I suppose I miscalculated,- He mentally sighed. -We'll just have to appeal to them as best as possible. Unless I use my…darker powers, we're outmatched.- There was a pause, and then…

-How do you plan on appealing to them?-

-Simple. Open up a Fuzetsu and explain ourselves. They should understand then.-

-I thought you said it was hard to open up a Fuzetsu?-

-I can do it with the Magic circle I have set around the city.-

-Huh? But how? That's--

-My little secret,- The man mentally chuckled as she cursed him. -Awww, Aiko-Chan, you're so mean.-

-You're probably the most callous person on this planet,- She grumbled.

-Hey, you don't have to rub it in. It's in my nature you know.-

-Of course. You want me to meet you somewhere?-

-Hmmm…- He looked at the Haridan and spotted her shape jumping from roof to roof of the taller buildings. -When you get to that huge museum like place, stop. I'll be waiting there.-

---

Nabiki sat down on her bed and smiled as the taskbar noted her that she was within range of WiFi service. "Such generous neighbors," She smiled. "I don't have to pay a single en," she restored the IE window that Kuno had used to type in the static IP. She simply clicked "Go" and sighed when nothing came up. It was to be expected; there was no free port behind the number so a direct connection was impossible.

"Wait a minute…" She noticed something odd about the number. "The first set has four digits and the second one has only two." She sighed and moved the misplaced dot and clicked go.

-

Nabiki stared, speechless at her laptop screen. The device she had connected to was apparently some type of database, filled with several indexes of files in different categories.

"Really…" She stared at the index. "I can't even begin to understand how this could possibly exist…" Her mouth curved into a grin. "But this could be very useful. I'll have to thank Kuno some how." The HTML of the site she was looking at was very, very simple; there were in fact no graphics and all of it was just black and white text. She spotted at a side panel that she hadn't noticed before and clicked it.

A new window opened up and on it was a list of numbers that she couldn't really understand, but there was a number and a sign along various words. "Luna, 12, Venus, 31…Mars, 82…Mercury, error…Ceres, 100…Callisto, 64…Neptune, 12…Jupiter, .01." The list went on, but she didn't feel like reading it any further.

"What the hell is this?" Only silence answered her, and she sighed. 'It's not like the laptop is going to become smarter in the space of a few hours. Hmm…maybe I don't have to tell Kuno about this.' She looked out her window and realized that the sun was setting. "I still have more to do," She sighed. 'I suppose I can put that off. I do _so_ wonder how the media is going to respond to that teaser I sent them…I could literally become a billionaire off of that tape, but what's even weirder is that index Kuno dreamed up,' She blinked and glanced at the laptop's screen.

"Maybe I should tell him _something_."

---

"Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted as soon as Kagome opened the door to her house. "Where were you all this time?"

"I was out with my friends, doing _normal_ things for once," She growled. "Just what could be so important that you need to yell at me as soon as I get home?" By the end of her sentence, she was more or less diffused by the look on his face. However, nothing could have prepared her for what he said next.

"The well is broken!"

---

"This will be our meeting place," Satoshi said. "I'll increase my power to a level they won't be able to ignore and when they come I'll bring it down to show our non-aggression."

"What if they attack immediately?"

"Then we'll defend ourselves until we can disable the Fuzetsu. Once that happens, they'll stop, regardless of the situation." He nodded.

---

"Wow," Rie intoned as Ranma and Ryouga walked into the main hall, clothed in only towels and dripping wet. . She blushed at their state of dress and slightly turned away. "Say, are both of you already all healed up?"

"Pretty much," Ranma said cheerfully. "We use our chi to quicken the process, so it's only a matter of hours from now until we're fully healed," Indeed, both boys were nearly free of bruises from their major fight and looking none the worse for the wear. It was a major expenditure on their Chi, but Rie thought it was worth it. Ryouga looked at the ground in confusion as he realized what Ranma was saying. 'Neither of us has ever healed this fast before…' Ranma walked to the guest room where his bag and Suiseiseki were waiting, leaving Ryouga and his sister behind.

"So how long have you known Ranma-kun?" Rie asked, still blushing. Ryouga's eye twitched and he looked after Ranma before sighing.

"Since Jr. high," He sighed again. "He used to walk me home because he didn't have anything better to do. Why do you want to know about Ranma all of a sudden?" The girl sighed in a way that sent a chill down Ryouga's spine.

"No reason…no reason at all," She walked away to her room (Funny that Ryouga hadn't noticed it before, but oh well; before, he could rarely even find his way to his own room and it was only recognizable by all of the trinkets he kept in it.

"She's only…Hey wait, how old is she anyway?" He blinked and turned his head when he heard her voice.

"Since when did my room have all of this weird stuff?"

"That's my room," He said, walking over to it.

-

"What have you been doing all day? You had Suiseiseki worried about you –desu!"

"Ah, sorry Suiseiseki," He sighed as he put on a shirt. His boxers were already on under the towel, so he grabbed the robes from their guest closet and put it on. "What were you doing all day though? Just sitting here waiting for me?"

"_Yes_ –desu! What _else_ could I have been doing -desu?"

"Ah, sorry," He smiled sheepishly. "Well, you could have stayed at the Tendo Dojo and done other stuff," He shrugged.

"Impossible, Suiseiseki can't stay far away from her medium for more than thirty minutes or she gets weaker and weaker until she falls into a deep, deeeeep sleep –desu."

"Eh…" He sighed. 'Man, I can't be the only one of us two who isn't liking this situation we're both in. She'd probably be better with some kid with nothing better to do…'

--

"_The future of the Moon Kingdom depends on you and your fellow knights,"_

--

The sky was fairly dark when Nabiki arrived at the construction site that Kuno had been at before. There was a fairly cold breeze, and had it not been for her hoodie, her skin would have been full of goose bumps. The sounds of construction couldn't be heard anymore, and she was thankful for that.

'He's _got _to be cold. Figures that Kuno would stay here the whole day. The whole family has a habit for making things appear more dramatic than they really are..' She hiked up the rocky trail from the rubble to the clearing where the boulder was, and as expected, there sat Kuno.

"Ne, Kuno," She said. "I checked out that number you gave me." He turned to look at her and seemed to be waiting for something. She walked over to him and looked up at him. "It was an index,"

"An index..?"

"Yes," She nodded. "It had tons of weird stuff, but that was it."

"So it was real."

"It could be a coincidence."

"I doubt it." Kuno turned his head back towards the moon.

"Eh," Nabiki shrugged as the stars began lighting up the sky.

---

"That should be good enough. Ah, here they come now," Satoshi pointed at the girl with the flaming wings and red hair. She was wearing her Flame Haze coat and immediately withdrew the Nieteno no Shana before swooping down towards the two with great speed as her wings disintegrated.

Satoshi sighed and looked down at the ground as the Flame Haze fell towards him with her Katana held at the ready. Apparently, they weren't even going to give him a chance. Seconds before she could fall down onto him and slash him into a perfect half, Aiko seemingly materialized before him with both Kunai held up to intercept the girl's katana. There was a great clang as the three blades clashed and Shana glared into Aiko's uncaring face.

-At least this way, we still get to test them,- Satoshi mentally relayed to his partner. Her eyes darted to the side to acknowledge him, but Shana interpreted it as a negative assessment of her own power. The girl growled and pushed off the Kunoichi with her Katana.

"If you still want to fight, it was dumb coming alone," Satoshi said, walking to stand parallel to Aiko. "An obviously very powerful Magi and his Kunoichi Magister would make mincemeat out of a Flame Haze."

-Why do you continue with these instigations?-

Satoshi chuckled. -You know why,-

-Bah.-

Shana growled at his chuckle and stood up to her full height, holding the Nieteno no Shana away from her. There was a burst of flame as the Nieteno no Shana was engulfed in a swirling inferno and Shana somersaulted backwards, slicing upwards with the sword as she did. An intense wave of fire flew at the two.

Satoshi held up his hand and wordlessly invoked a barrier around both himself and Aiko. After the initial wave collided with his barrier, an explosion followed that pushed Shana back through the air. She flipped again in the air and landed perfectly, watching the two expectantly.

When the haze of flame cleared, Satoshi and Aiko were standing on a perfectly circular unaffected patch of grass, surrounded by destruction caused from the initial incineration. The barrier around them melted away and Satoshi smiled.

"Is that all you can do? How disappointing. Oh well, it to be expe-" He suddenly side stepped several white ribbons that instantly cut into the ground, jumped to dodge several more and turned to his opponent. A maid wearing an odd mask was throwing the ribbons at him from her back some how.

"Ha?"

Aiko turned her face back towards where Shana had been standin. She immediately and reflexively held one of her Kunai above her head just in time to block a downward strike. Sparks rose as the two blades clashed and Shana invoked a large blast of flame around her sword and somersaulted again. Aiko jumped back before the fire could explode in her face. Shana looked around warily and suddenly turned around with a foot forward. Aiko dodged to the side and both landed before jumping at each other again.

---

Chibi-Usa panted as the ridiculously-proportioned youma approached her. She had already killed ten of them, yet more were coming from everywhere.

"Where're the others?" She growled angrily. She remembered what had happened when Ami contacted all of them… "They all came out of nowhere. It's like the enemy is trying to wage a full war this time," She growled. She looked up as the creature lumbered closer and was scowled at it.

"Ne, a pretty girl like you shouldn't be sporting such a look," Came a familiar voice. She looked up and standing directly beside her was the blue haired man from before. His arms were crossed and he was smiling while looking at her from the corner of his eye. She looked around and realized everything was still.

"Eh? You again," Chibi-Usa said.

"Yo." He waved.

"What do you want?"

"To talk."

"What?"

"I've been diverting the other Senshi to places other than this, that's why your backup is late,"

"What!? You froze me before, now this?! Are you working with the enemies or something?"

"I _did_ tell you to get away," He sighed, closing his eyes. "But yes, I suppose that was a bit overboard."

"A bit?"

"Do you want my help or not?"

"Your help? What? How can you help me?"

"Simple." He held up a large red Emerald and tossed it up into the air before catching it. "You know what this is?" He looked down at her seriously. "It's a-"

"Chaos Emerald," She muttered.

"Oh? You're not as ignorant as you first seemed, then, are you?"

"…" She merely glared at him and stopped panting.

"Well, this is my gift to you, but only if you accept it totally." He turned to her and looked her in the eye.

"Totally?" She glared at him.

"You know what it is. You Senshi are all about love and justice, so I don't know if you'd want to use something like this," He quipped.

'That's right—Ranma supplied an incredible amount of incredibly evil energy while my naturally pure energy seeped into that little jewel. The fusion created what Touya called similar to a Chaos Emerald, and his brother had a Chaos Emerald…The real thing was at the least a million times stronger than the makeshift one Touya, Ranma and I used, and we were able to stop time with it…It must take an impossible amount of negative energy to fuel that.'

"I don't get it."

"What?"

"Why are you helping me out like this?"

"So you're taking it?"

"I didn't say that," She said. "Rather…I want to know the purpose for your actions before I do anything."

"That I can not tell you. Just know that it is in the best interest of this planet's future," He vanished and reappeared atop a building before he sighed. "I can tell you one thing though…" He turned and looked her straight in the face. "Never depend on one thing. Nothing is infallible, no power is absolute." He turned his face so that she could only see it from the side and his face was grim.

"The belief that something thing was absolute ultimately led to the destruction of the Silver Millenium, and if you are not careful, will lead to the end of this world as well." He fully turned around and tossed the Chaos Emerald behind himself before jumping up and vanishing again. Chibi-Usa caught it and looked at it before looking after him.

"Wait! I don't even know how to use this thing!"

The blue haired man sighed as he watched from a distance as the pink haired Senshi fumbled with the emerald in frozen time.

'It seems wrong, to have someone destroy the timeline that created them…She'll never be able to get back there once she uses that…' He turned away again. 'Eh…one of _them_ is here. Or more precisely, a half-breed. Interesting, I didn't know that was possible.'

---

"Dammit," Satoshi growled as he noticed Aiko's position. Shana had bound her arms and was holding her with the Nieteno no Shana to her neck.

"Why do you want the Reiji Maigo?"

"…Hm? I don't really want it," He commented lazily as he reached into his shirt and pulled out Aiko's Pactio card. Shana glared at him and held her katana up to Aiko's neck.

"If you even move, she's dead," The look in her eyes was serious, a deadly seriousness that could only exist in the eyes of an experienced killer. "Now you will explain to us what your intentions with the Reiji Maigo are," She could tell Wilhelmina and Margery were moving around the magi so as to surround him.

"I already told you that I have no intention of using the Reiji Maigo myself," he growled, putting away Aiko's pactio card. 'Can't invoke teleportation without her dying before it's done. They must know how the Pactio works,'

"Then why were you attempting to capture it earlier? Do you take us for fools, Magi?" Shana snorted. "Or were you employed to capture it for someone else?" Satoshi looked innocent.

"Capture it? I was trying to destroy it so it could be transferred to another torch," He said. His expression turned serious. "I didn't see the logic behind you three keeping it in a place where several Tomogara, and possibly even the Bal Masque already know where it is," He growled.

"Careful, Magi, my hand might slip," She narrowed her eyes. "Of course the motives or actions of Flame Haze are beyond your comprehension,"

"You little bitch," Aiko growled. She gasped as the Nieteno no Shana slid forward, leaving a line of red where blood immediately started gushing.

"Dammit," She remembered her position and focused to use her Chi to close the wound and stop the bleeding. Satoshi opened his eyes to narrow slits and glared at the red haired Flame Haze.

"You might not want to try that stunt again, Flame Haze," He said as a malevolent power began flowing from him. Aiko tried her best to look at him with raised brows from her position but any movement caused her rub against the sharp blade of Shana's katana.

"What…"

"I didn't want it to come to this," He said it in a disapproving way, and his voice encompassed the entire field.

"Wha…What?" Shana wavered as she felt the wave of power flowing from him. 'That's the first time he's opened his eyes all this time…I'd assumed he was blind, but…was he really just toying with us? And why…why are his eyes red?'

"It can't be…" Alastor's voice rumbled and Aiko's eyes flashed up to the huge gem around Shana's neck. It looked like an active nexus of some sort, but it wasn't generating any kind of power.

"Eh, This is serious, isn't it?" Margery looked down at the Grimoire she had in her arm.

"What do you mean by that?"

"That guy ain't no common magi," Marchosias boomed.

"I know that, anyone who can tell what kind of energy he's putting out would be able to notice that. What the hell is he?"

"He is a Mazoku." Tiamat's voice resounded, lacking any emotion. Wilhelmina took off her mask, which became the usual headband and put it in her hair.

"Glad to see we're on the same page," he said coolly. "Now, return my partner to me and allow us to explain ourselves." He waited and Shana reluctantly released Aiko from her grasp. The Kunoichi slowly walked over to Satoshi, who re-activated the Fuzetsu around them. His eyes closed again and his face was mock cheerful.

"Hey, why are we letting them go?" Margery asked, irritated.

"This was never a fair fight in the first place de arimasu." Wilhelmina said, equally devoid of emotion.

"I don't believe this…" Margery mumbled.

"Alastor, what exactly is a Mazoku?" Shana asked her bonded spirit.

"Mmm," Alastor's voice resonated throughout the air. "Mazoku…They are the most powerful type of demon that ever walked this planet. They literally feed and gain nourishment from dark emotions, such as hate and despair, and are largely unbeatable. Even the weakest Mazoku are indestructible by normal means…it was thought that they had all disappeared from this world, due to the lack of Mana, however…apparently not all of them are gone."

"That is what we have come to discuss, actually," Satoshi sighed. "Yggdrasill is ending its ten thousand year hibernation." There was a look of bewilderment on Wilhelmina's face and Alastor and Marchosias' astonished voices could be heard.

"What?!"

"Why now!?"

"That much is unknown. However, Mana has begun spilling out of the Great Kharlan tree once more, and one day _very soon_ its sphere of influence will encompass Earth."

"So, that is how you are able to exist here," Alastor said. "It was a confusing thing, that a Mazoku could still survive on Earth with the lack of Mana,"

"Actually, no, I was here before Yggdrasill manifested itself," He said cheerfully.

"Eh? Then just how were you able to exist here?"

"…Now that…is a secret."

"…"

"Come on," Shana insisted. "If you were able to exist here, then it's possible other of these 'Mazoku' were able to live here, right?' she insisted. Satoshi just shrugged.

"Hi-mi-tsu," He stressed each syllable in a playful fashion.

"Why you-"

"Enough of this –de arimasu," Wilhelmina interjected. "Tell us why you came here –de arimasu. I doubt you came here just to inform us of the Tree of Life's re-awakening –de arimasu."

"Actually, we came to recruit you," Aiko said. "What he said earlier had some semblance of truth to it. We are representatives of Mahora Academy, only part of a group of operatives sent to collect as many allies as we can and investigate anything else that may be happening as a result of the great Kharlan Tree's re-awakening."

"Is that so? Might I ask why?" Alastor asked.

"Our leader believes that Earth will be facing some rather…hard times in the near future. Armageddon and all," Satoshi commented lazily.

"He already has a Mazoku," Alastor started. "Why would he need Flame Haze?"

"I prefer not to get directly involved too much," Satoshi said, rubbing his upper lip. "I don't mind the smaller jobs he's given me as of late, but if it gets to be too much in excess, I'll tell him to shove it, and do my own thing. Besides, he doesn't even know what I really am."

"I…see. Well, it is indeed a grave matter."

"The balance of the worlds is shifting once again. It is something that can not be ignored," Tiamat intoned as well.

Everyone looked at the Grimoire under Margery's arm.

"…Ne, that's the most she's at once said in eons," Marchosias intoned just as seriously as the previous lords of the Crimson Realm. Margery rolled her eyes and the others just blinked.

"Well, you must make your decision to come right now, because I won't be able to stay here overnight. That little display of my power will bring every cheesy sentai group from around the world and then some in a matter of hours, minutes for some."

"I do have one question," Alastor's voice rumbled uncertainly.

"Oh, what's that?"

"Why would a Mazoku be working with magi like those at Mahora academy? Mazoku were tasked with the order of returning all of the worlds to the Sea of Chaos, were they not?"

"Suffice it to say that while I am indeed…Mazoku, my loyalty does not lie with Ruby-Eye, or any other Mazoku lords. I merely live to further myself."

"…I see."

---

Negi, Asuna, and Kotarou were in the process of unpacking most of their belongings. The train ride had been long and uneventful, and all three had slept most of the way there. The Headmaster of Mahora had already made their plans, and they were set to live in a comfortable apartment complex until their assignment was over.

"Ne, Kotarou," Negi looked up at his hanyou companion. "What do you think of Tokyo so far?"

"It's weird. There's so much magic flying around that even the novice was a bit freaked," He said, using his thumb to point over his shoulder at the older girl that was behind them.

"Gaki…" Asuna growled at the hanyou and continued setting her clothes.

"Ne, how're your ears, Ane-san?" Kotarou asked, turning his head towards the girl. She glared daggers at him and Negi began sweating.

"Uh, so, what do you think of the place we got?"

"Eh," Kotarou looked around the room he, Asuna, and Negi would be sharing.. "It's alright, although I'm sure jiji wouldn't mind paying extra for your comfort."

"Hey, what's that?" Asuna's startled voice interrupted the two's conversation.

"Eh? What?" Kotarou looked around, his ears twitching. "You actually hear something that I don't?"

"No…it's some kind of weird energy, like yesterday…" Negi took on a serious look.

"Huh…Asuna-san, which direction is it coming from?"

---

Nabiki sighed. It was almost nine already; she had spent the last thirty minutes sitting here with Kuno. Why? True he was a good source of money, and as a result she was somewhat worried about his welfare, but he was kendoist and martial artist; he could take care of himself. She looked to the side and sighed.

"Listen, Kuno…" She started to say something, but stopped. Kuno looked at her, waiting. When she didn't say anything he put a hand on her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Her hand rose and pointed at a large, floating swirling black portal.

---

Jun stared at his computer screen with distaste.

"Look at this…they're just a bunch of script kiddies, anyone can do this kind of thing…" Shinku looked up from her book and blinked. She looked outside and narrowed her eyes.

Jun noticed when she jumped off of his bed and took several steps towards his door.

"Eh? Where are you going?"

"Outside for a walk."

"What? A walk? This late at night?"

"…Whatever you do, stay inside the house." She opened door and left. He shrugged before turning back to his computer.

"Weird doll…"

---

Ranma looked up from his manga and turned his head, narrowing his eyes.

"Eh?" Suiseiseki looked up at him from her own manga. "Is something wrong…-desu?" She blinked and looked in the same direction. "Oh no…"

"Huh? Have you felt something like that before?"

"I can't believe it –desu…"

"What _is _that? Do you know?"

"It's…It's definitely the same as last time…It has to be a denizen of Niflheim!"

---

"Calm down, Inuyasha," Kagome said. In all honesty, she was just as addled as he was if not more, but the Hanyou was being very… animated about his opinion on the subject at hand.

"Calm down? _CALM DOWN?!_ The well is broken! HOW can I _CALM_ DOWN?!" He ranted and walked around the well impatiently. "I'm STUCK in your crazy world and you want me to calm down?!"

"Inuyasha, now isn't a time to think selfishly!" Inuyasha glared at her for a moment before his face was suddenly distraught.

"I just realized something."

"What?"

"We left everyone behind. They're vulnerable right now without me there," He said worriedly. Kagome sighed.

"I'm sure they'll be safe. They're all capable of defending themselves, and we _will_ fix the well,"

"How do you know that?"

"In a situation like this, it's best to think optimistically. Besides the Shikon no Kakera are all still over there for the most part,"

"That may be true, but we've found some here before. If we found some here, then went back in the past and found them before we found them here, wouldn't that mess up time or something?"

"You mean cause a Time paradox? I'm not sure," She mumbled, rubbing her temples. "Listen, it's dark and we're both obviously agitated. We should approach this situation in the morning, when we can think properly." Inuyasha sighed, but reluctantly agreed with her.

"Alright…" he stopped pacing and looked to her. His nose twitched and he growled. "Wonderful." His hand went to the hilt of Tessaiga and he snarled as he left the well house. "I just needed to work off some frustration, too…"

"What is it, Inu…" Kagome stopped as a sudden, massive wave of Youki passed through the area. "Inuyasha…It's the same weird Youki as before!"

"Eh? Before when?"

"Last week!"

"Eh…" Inuyasha scrunched his face, trying to remember what she was talking about. "Hey…you're right. It's the same kind of scent too." He looked back at her. "How long _have_ these weird Youkai been running around your time?"

"I honestly don't know," She said, walking towards the house to get her bow.

---

"Niflheim? What are you talking about?"

-

Jun winced and looked at his finger. The ring was glowing a bright red and becoming incredibly hot. He jumped up from his desk and looked out the window. "What the hell is that?!"

-

"It's another world, but it's completely evil –desu. It's a hellish place where only demons and other evil creatures can exist –desu!"

-

Jun immediately took off from the window to the door of his room.

-

"So there's some kind of monster from another world?"

-

"Shinku…"

-

"More than one –desu." Suiseiseki ran over to the window. "I can sense a _lot_ more than one…And…It can't be…Shinku?" The last word was whispered and Ranma didn't hear it.

---

Negi, Kotarou and Asuna carefully walked through the deserted street before both Kotarou and Negi froze.

"What in the world…" Negi suddenly looked in a certain direction and Kotarou narrowed his eyes before sniffing the air in that direction and angling his ears forward.

"It's some kind of Youma or something,"

"You've faced these 'Youma' before, Kotarou-kun?" Negi asked.

"Yeah. They're tons different from Youkai in that they have no brains at all," He said.

"What should we do?" Asuna asked. "If it's really some kind of monster, shouldn't we be killing it?"

"Of course! What are we still doing here?" The three were about to move into a full run when suddenly a familiar man dressed in a mage suit appeared before them. There was a Kunoichi with him as well.

"Oi, Negi-kun," Satoshi's hand rose up in greeting.

"S-Satoshi-san?" Negi asked, surprised. "Didn't you already have an assignment? Why are you here? HOW are you here?"

"I'm done with mine, so I figured I could check on you."

"Ah, well we just got here," Negi shrugged. "But Satoshi, why did you do something so drastic as teleporting when you're just checking on me? You could have called!"

'Che, I forgot how much weaker these magi were,' Satoshi grimaced and then nervously smiled. "Ah, well, I'm here now, that's what counts," He ignored the absolutely terrified look from Asuna and the glare he was getting from Kotarou.

"Ne, what's going on here though? Asuna-san's aura is much different from before. And those huge things on the side of her head are certainly interesting as well." His innocent question got the desired effect and the girl in question visibly fumed. Kotarou forgot his animosity towards the man and chuckled noisily.

"Ah, she woke up like that this morning," Negi said nervously.

"I see. In any case," Satoshi suddenly put his arms around the three in a warding gesture as both he and Aiko began walking forward. The three were pushed back, confused. Suddenly, the wall where they had been standing exploded as a girl dressed in a colorful Sailor Fuku fell through. Negi and Asuna's jaws dropped as the magical girl instantly got up and ran back towards where she came.

"Ah! That's right, we sensed a youma in that direction!" Negi said urgently. He was about to move when Satoshi held up a finger.

"I think they have it under control," He pointed beyond the wall at what appeared to be an altercation between a humanoid of some sort and three girls wearing miniskirts.

"EHHHHHHH?!" Negi's eyes widened and he pointed in complete and utter disbelief at the scene. Satoshi sweat dropped as Asuna laughed and Kotarou rolled his eyes at the scene. The Senshi and the creature they were fighting turned to the small boy in surprise and confusion. "But…they…no self-respecting…witch…" He fumbled with his words before just gawking at the scene.

"And you thought they were fake," Asuna snickered as she revealed her pactio card and materialized the Ensis Exorcizans before giving it a test swing and pointing it at the youma. "They look more like they're having trouble to me," Asuna said as she slung the blade over her shoulder and nonchalantly walked towards the group. "Time to work off some frustration." Kotarou followed her and held up a clawed hand as he smirked.

"I like how you think, Ane-san," He said with a malicious look on his face. "I have learned a new technique that I'm just _dying_ to try out, although I'd hoped it would be against Negi, this guy will do."

Negi blinked and looked up at Satoshi before shrugging and following his student and friendly rival out towards the monster. Satoshi watched them for a while before turning towards Aiko.

-In any event, we're going to have to talk to that girl.-

-Are you sure?-

-It's actually a good idea. If I can gain her trust, I can teach her some _Real_ magic.-

-You do realize you're the only source on this planet for any kind of 'Real' Magic, right?-

-Not quite. As an Elf, she can summon mana from the re-awakened Yggdrasill regardless of how far she is to cast even normal spells; almost anything would be stronger than what most of these mages have been making due with. Granted, there have been some powerful magi from this world…As for Black magic…the stronger Mazoku like Ruby-Eye's influence still reach this planet, even from as far away as they are.-

-You wouldn't go teaching her to use _that_ would you?-

-It would be interesting to see someone do it. I can't do it myself for obvious reasons, but if I had command over someone that powerful…-

-Once you teach it to her, she might kill you on principle.-

-Nah, she'll trust me too much, the whole teacher-student relationship deal.-

-You mean the one she has with Negi?- Satoshi chuckled.

-Not quite as much.-

---

Ranma walked out of the guest room with his usual red/black attire and Suiseiseki at his heels.

"Where are you two going?" Rie asked.

"I think it's obvious," Ryouga said as he emerged from his own room, fully clothed as well.

"But you're not fully healed!"

"We're almost there," Ryouga shrugged. "Besides some minor demon should be nothing for us, right Ranma?" They grinned at each other as they began walking down the stairs. Ryouga blinked as he realized Suiseiseki was following them. "What's with the doll?"

"Eh," Ranma shrugged.

"Suiseiseki has experience with these types of monsters –desu," She sighed. "It's only right that I try to help out –desu."

"Are you sure? It's a big monster, and you're only a doll," Ryouga said as if talking to a child. Although visibly shaking, Suiseiseki nodded in the affirmative. When Rie walked into her from behind, She screamed and jumped forward over Ranma and Ryouga and rolled on the floor.

"Eh?" Rie blinked and Suiseiseki panted.

"Don't do that again –desu!"

"Uh, sorry."

Ryouga and Ranma looked at each other before sighing and shaking their heads.

Ranma, Ryouga, Rie and Suiseiseki peered around a corner. "Where is it, Suiseiseki?"

"Over there," Suiseiseki pointed at a huge black portal with electricity crackling over it. Suddenly, two large green somewhat human like hands reached from the abyss and gripped the sides of the portal, as if pulling itself out.

Ryouga's eyes widened with shock and Ranma narrowed his own in recognition.

---

Kuno glanced at his bokken. He'd broken it on the demon's hide a when his supersonic projectiles proved useless. Now exhausted and weak, it was all he could to do stand there as the creature made for the Tendo girl that it had been going after initially.

'No…'

His eyes opened wider as the creature reached towards her prone form.

'I can not allow this.'

The creature's disturbing and poorly attempted attempt at a face grinned as it held its finger above her heart.

'I will not allow this.'

The finger started glowing and a bright light appeared around the Tendo girl.

'I command you to stop…'

He could feel it. It was draining away her Chi…he ignored the odd pattern that her Chi was giving off, and closed his eyes.

'You must stop…'

Nabiki's chi was low now; there wasn't much left of her. The effects could be seen immediately; her body was shriveled up as if de-hydrated and he couldn't sense any life coming from her.

-

Sakurada Jun stared in horror as the youma put its massive hand on the doll, Shinku, and began pushing down.

-

"_STOP!"_

-

The creature looked up at Kuno in confusion at his loud command. The boy's chi was glowing and electricity visibly danced around him. It dropped the half drained girl as soon as it noticed his erratic aura and immediately turned all of its attention towards him.

-

Jun stood, staring his opponent dead in the eyes as best he could through his blazing red aura.

-

The bokken disappeared and his hand went to the newly materialized sheath at his waist.

-

He gripped the hilt of his blade and closed his eyes.

-

"_Heed my call…awaken…"_

_-_

In unison, two voices spoke.

"In the name of justice…I will oppose you!"

----

EDIT: lol redicious


	7. The edge of nowhere

Disclaimer: The author of this story owns none of the series, characters, or locations mentioned in this story unless stated otherwise.

Sorry for the absence, although it's true I've had tons of time, between Nihongo 201, Highschool punks, Two holidays that brought out my family, the college finals in between them and this story, stress was a main part of my life for the better part of two months, and as a result, my imagination was beaten and maimed. However, with two and a half weeks(one and a half now) before any classes start up, I'm hopeful of another chapter, maybe two before I'm doomed.

Also, any glaring errors will be fixed tomorrow 'cause I'm too lazy to fix it right now and I would like to get a response soon.

---

"This is unsettling," The ancient Amazon Ku Lon stared out of her wizened old eyes at the carnage that lay before her. She was balanced on her cane, perfectly as always without the slightest hint of any worry. It was necessary, though; that one such as her self appear to those around her to be an unmovable object, as well as an irresistible force.

Behind her was the Neko Hanten; inside were several patrons and any other civilians that had had the good fortune of finding a safe haven such as that. When several people ran in screaming about seeing demons literally devour the life force from someone off of the street, she immediately decided to investigate. Afterall, it did coincide with her senses screaming at her not seconds before.

Upon reaching the outside of her establishment, she encountered what appeared to be an abomination of some sort, and though the monstrous appearance of the creature was indeed grotesque, it didn't appear to pose any real threat to her. She easily disposed of it within ten seconds and sighed, praying to the mother of all for the poor, unfortunate man whose life had been sucked away.

However, her respect was short lived as several more youma appeared. All of them were of inconsequential strength, but it was a sign.

A sudden, surprising demonic attack was not _too_ out of the ordinary for Nerima, but for a continuous stream of youma called for immediate attention. She had scanned the entire city, and sure enough various demonic signatures were perceptible. There were two that stood out above the rest as well as a few others she couldn't identify, but she resolved that either one of them may have been the one causing all of this trouble, but for now all were too far away to be an immediate concern. She had ended up destroying several more youma before deciding action needed to be taken. But she couldn't just leave…

Cologne turned around and pogoed back into the café.

"Mu Tsu, I'm going out to find the root of this problem. You are to wait here and protect anyone who should manage to find this place." She started. She held up a hand before he could start. "When Xian Pu returns, she is to find as many refugees in the _immediate_ area and bring them back here. When she can find no more, she is to stay here with you and watch over them. Hopefully, I will be back before long." Mousse solemnly nodded, accepting the order (mostly because it meant he would eventually be spending time with Shampoo). She turned around and pogoed out of the café before suddenly launching towards a nearby roof for which she could traverse.

---

Ranma spun around and landed a chi infused roundhouse on his opponent's leg. 'Damn, there's more than one of these bastards now,' He growled as he jumped back from the roundhouse and threw two identical spheres of Chi at the creature. They exploded upon impact and Ranma narrowed his eyes as the dust cleared. He brought his arms up as the dust from the explosion cleared and growled when he realized that his enemy was unaffected.

"Dammit, what the hell am I supposed to do? They don't even have to shrug off the Mouko Takabisha…"

"We adapt, Ranma. That's something you're well known for, isn't it?" Ryouga landed next to him and narrowed his eyes at their enemy.

"Un," Ranma agreed. "Do you see any weak spots on this guy?"

"Not really," His partner grunted. "Do you have any ideas yet?"

"Yeah, one," Ranma said. "I need you to distract it for a while, if possible," He narrowed his eyes and formed a chi sphere in his hand. Ryouga nodded and jumped at the Youma with his fists held up for a hammer strike. His hands impacted on the creature's hide and he winced in pain as he withdrew, barely dodging a strike.

"Che," he shook his hands and held them up, forming a sphere of ki. He closed his eyes He focused and materialized another one before putting them together and holding them forward. He opened his eyes and green light spilled into the atmosphere around him. 'Can't do a perfect one because I don't have time, but…'

"Teisuu Shishi Hokudan!"

---

Kuno leapt at the Youma with an elaborate yet dangerous looking wooden sword at the ready. "Raijinken!" He stabbed it in the gut and immediately a bolt of lightning struck the demon, using his weapon as an anchor to strike inside the monster. It yelled out in pain and pulled away from him. He glared at it and leapt after it, moving to attack it again.

"Akisazame!" He stabbed with an incredible speed, blurring at such a pace that made any previous attacks seem to have been in super-slow-motion. The youma cried out as an entire limb was shredded to nothing. Kuno jumped at it again with a final attack. "Fuuraijinken!" He stabbed it once more and it was simultaneously struck with a huge pressure of wind and a powerful lightning bolt.

Kuno stepped back and watched as it pitifully twitched as it bled onto the ground before turning into a mound of dust that blew away in the wind. Immediately, a ball of white light that resembled a flame appeared and flew into Nabiki. The girl looked normal enough when he turned back towards her.

"Ugh," The girl groaned as she tried to stand. Kuno moved to help her up and she held up her hand in refusal. Once she stood, she got a good look at him. "Man, all that time you kept talking about being a warrior in the service of the gods," She shook her head. "Who'd have thought it was true." She stumbled and he called out her name as he began moving towards her. "I'm okay," She grumbled as he helped her stand. There was silence for a moment before she groaned again.

"Are you really all right?" He asked as he put her arm around his shoulder to keep her from falling.

"My head hurts like hell," She grumbled. "There's a weird…sensation,"

"That's most likely a side effect of what happened to you," He said.

"Hah, yeah, what happened to _me_," She chuckled. "Just what the hell happened to _you_, Kuno?" She looked at him when he was silent.

"I…I am not sure…"

"It probably has to do with those dreams of yours. You're wearing the same armor that you described in that dream,"

"Huh…" The boy shook his head. "You're right."

'This is just wonderful,' the Tendo girl thought. 'Ranma certainly surrounds himself with the weirdest, doesn't he?'

"It looks like it isn't over," Kuno said. Her head snapped up in surprise and she noticed a new black swirling portal of energy. The new one was a bit higher than the other one, in the sky. The two looked at each other and Nabiki growled before running to hide behind the boulder they had been sitting on earlier. Suddenly, a purple haired man wearing odd robes appeared before the portal.

"Here one is," He was about to reach into it when suddenly it collapsed in on itself. "Hmm…" He turned around to see Nabiki and the transformed Kuno. "A wonderful night, isn't it?" He asked before vanishing.

"What the hell is he talking about?"

"There must be more of these things around," Kuno said.

"Yes, it looks like it."

The two were silent for another moment.

"Let's go," She sighed.

"Hmm?"

"I doubt it would be safe enough to just go by myself. I might end up getting attacked again," She shuddered.

"Ah…All right,"

---

"Gurenken!" Jun growled as he leapt into the air, slashing his opponent with an upwards slash before his sword exploded with fire and he swung it to release a huge ball of flame at the opponent's opened wound. The creature yelled out in pain as the flames tore into its wound and burned it from the inside out.

The wounded area was instantly incinerated but still his opponent stood. 'Dammit, what the hell is going on? What's with this weird as _all_ _hell_ transformation?!' He landed and picked up Shinku before jumping backwards and setting her down safely. He ignored the shocked look on her face and glared at the monster that tried to destroy her.

"Jun…what is going on? What happened to you?"

"Trust me when I say I have _no_ idea. The more important thing right now is beating this thing," He grunted. She stared at him in awe; his attire had changed completely and there was no trace of his original clothing.

He was wearing a small blue chest plate along with a purple cape that had some sort of emblem on the back and two large blue boots. His hair had somehow turned red and she could feel through their connection that his both his magical and physical base had increased over tenfold. He jumped at their enemy and wildly swung his sword in a way that little resembled any kind of professional training.

The blonde doll stood up and looked at the two combatants; one who had no idea what he was doing swinging a flaming sword around anyway and one that obviously had a bit more experience in fighting than the both of them. Jun was doing minimal damage; with the exception of his initial technique, his attacks did not seem too impressive.

Jun jumped at the monster again, using both hands to swing the sword. He managed to cut it this time and somehow jumped again while in the air, before holding his sword back as it enveloped in flame. He swung it forward, sending a wave of fire into the wound that managed to make the youma cry out in alarm. He jumped yet_ again_, somersaulting backwards this time, and landed a good distance away from their enemy.

'How is he doing that?' the doll narrowed her eyes and re-played the triple jump he'd just preformed. '…It's not important right now,'

"Hou'ou Tenku!" Jun somersaulted nearly straight up into the air before thrusting his sword forward. He was consumed by fire and shot forward towards the creature. Shinku watched from the side as Jun was enveloped in flame that took on the form of a bird, with the tip of his sword being it's beak, thrust forward to attack. He embedded his blade into the monster's side and slashed downwards to forcefully bring it out, opening a huge wound. The thing cried out in pain as it collapsed and died.

Jun wobbled for a few seconds and tried to regain his bearings. He looked at the sword in his hand and shook his head. The small headache he was feeling told him he was definitely not dreaming, but the things that had happened were definitely not _reality_, right?

"Jun, there are more of these things running around." She turned her head and pointed down the street. "The closest one is that way—"

"And?" Jun snorted. "What do you want me to do?" He looked in the direction she had point and leaned on his sword.

"We're going to destroy them, of course."

"We? No way!" Jun shouted. "I'm not going to risk my ass for this crap," He shook his head. "Besides, all of this fantastic crap can't be anything but a dream, or some drugged up hallucination!" He closed his eyes and sighed. After a few seconds, he heard the sound of the doll approaching him and he opened his eyes just in time to see Shinku thrust her cane into his mid-section. He keeled over, trying to keep the tears from flowing out of his eyes. "Wh-what the hell was that for!?"

"You must be some kind of fool if you honestly believe that I would allow my servant to laze around while I engage denizens of the netherworld," She snorted. She hooked her cane on his new outfit's belt and began dragging him away.

"Wh-What? No! I absolutely refuse to do this! I have to—" Jun was interrupted by a sharp slap from the doll. He stared at her in surprise.

"You can not continue to run away from your fears, Jun. This is a time where people need you and whatever power you were mistakenly given. It is your duty—"

"My ass! I'm not going to go out and risk getting my head lopped off for a bunch of ingrateful punks!"

"Jun," Shinku started calmly. "Nori did not come home tonight. I fear…something is wrong." At that, Jun's expression froze.

"N-Nori…" He breathed.

"Jun, for your sister, you must do this," She urged. "I believe that this new power you posess, although given to the wrong person, was given for a reason. You do understand what I am saying, do you not?"

"…" Jun was silent for a moment, before he growled. "For Nori. But as soon as we find her, we're going home."

"That is acceptable," She lead him away from the house.

---

Satoshi smiled as he wordlessly summoned a barrier around himself and Aiko. Kotarou's new technique had concluded with a rather_ messy_ end for their poor youma friend. They weren't allowed a break, as another youma rounded on them. The Senshi called Mercury seemed to be yelling out commands to the other two.

'Ne, Aiko, can you take a look around for me real quick?' He was met with the mental equivalent of a nod and instantly the Kunoichi vanished from sight. His smile widened as he teleported to just behind the girl in blue.

"Oi, nee-san," He started, "I think my team has this situation under control." He was rewarded with a reflexive attack and smiled even wider when her arm impacted his face and nothing happened. She gawked at him and took a step back. "Like I was saying, we have this under control," He pointed over her shoulder, and she turned to see what he was pointing at. Unknown to everyone but the two of them, another Youma was preparing to enter the fray when it suddenly and violently exploded. The other fight continued without taking any notice.

"Nee-san, can that device of yours tell us where the origin of these creatures is?"

"Ah," She turned to face him and shivered slightly. "…Who…what are you?"

"It's not important," He said, waving a hand. "Do you think your cronies can cover another section of the city? I know there's quite a lot of these things running around…" She shook her head to clear her mind. If they were willing to help, they were willing to help. Any questions on their origin could come later.

"I suppose I can. I'd tell you where they're all coming from, but there's more than one portal here."

"Eh? Then, can you take me to one of them?"

"Uh…" Her expression turned serious. "Excuse me, but I can't necessarily trust you enough to be on my own with you," She said. He opened one eye and allowed a wicked smile to settle on his face.

"Oh please, if I wanted something done to you, I'd have done it already." He closed it again and assumed another cheerful expression. 'Hmm, she's not really afraid of me, just cautious. Have to give her credit for that,' "Well, if it makes you feel better, could you just direct me to one of them?"

"That's the thing. I can detect them, but they appear at random in random places and disappear after a time limit." She shook her head.

"Oh, well that's not your fault," He shrugged. "Could you describe it for me?"

"They're impossible to miss. Black, circular portals with what appears to be some form of electricity coursing through it."

"Hnn, that should do," He nodded and suddenly vanished.

---

Ranma narrowed his eyes and watched from the air as Ryouga finished his attack. 'Ryouga has a new technique. I need to start coming up with more of my own…' he landed and smirked.

"Ryouga, get out of the way if you know what's best for you!" Ryouga acknowledged Ranma's command with a grunt and jumped back just as his enemy went for an attack. Ranma held up a hand and pointed at the youma. Suddenly, an impossible amount of blue chi spheres appeared in the air around them. They all converged on the monster and after a large build up, they exploded. There was a depression in the ground where the explosion had occurred and nothing of the monster was left.

"Eh, what the hell was that?" Ryouga asked.

"How about you tell me what that dragon ball crap you were doing was first?" Ranma snorted as both dodged an attack from another monster. Ranma growled and jumped up behind Ryouga as the other boy's bandana soared through the air towards their new enemy.

He targeted the wound that was caused by the bandana and tossed a Mouko Takabisha towards it. The monster shrieked in a moment of pain before it attacked them again.

"This snail's pace is so annoying," Ranma heard Ryouga growl from below him. The two landed on the cement of the street and took on a ready stance. Before they could engage the monster, Ranma noticed a blue flash out of the corner of his eye. The two looked up, distracted, as a blue energy bolt screamed towards their enemy. The energy bolt tore through the monster and two more energy bolts followed. The monster disintegrated from having so much of its body torn off.

"W-what…" Ranma blinked and looked up. He looked up and a silver haired man dressed in all white was standing with what appeared to be an energy based long-bow. "What the hell?" The man vanished and Ranma had to blink.

"Ranma, it looks like that was the last one in the area,"

"Okay, cool. Let's move on," The two nodded before blinking. "Hey wait a minute…" Ranma looked around in a panic. "Rie? Suiseiseki?! Where are they?!" Ryouga blanched.

"Let's retrace our steps," the lost boy commanded.

"I think that's a good idea," Ranma agreed and the two jumped away.

---

Satoshi smirked as another black portal deactivated upon his nearing it.

"This is a surprise,"

"Hmm," Satoshi turned to face an old, deceptively feeble and short woman.

"It's you…" 'He's definitely one of those noticeable demonic entities I noticed a while ago.'

"It's me? I suppose it could be, but that depends on what you're talking about," Satoshi smiled innocently as the woman surveyed him. There was a sudden movement on her part and his hand shot up to the side to block a strike from her staff. The old woman had attacked him from the side and he'd blocked it with his own. She immediately jumped back to her prior position and smirked at him.

"Oya oya, that's dangerous, obaa-san," He intoned. "You might have hurt yourself."

"That's nothing for one such as myself,"

"Such as yourself?" He asked innocently. "But you look like no more than a random old woman who decided to go out for a walk…and what a _fine_ night, isn't it?" Cologne cackled at that.

"My, for one so young, you have some good humor, no?"

"Ora?"

"Right, I'm just an old woman, and you're just an average Western Magi, right?"

"Oh? Then what are you?"

"You should be able to tell by looking."

"Then can you tell what I am from looking?" The old woman snorted.

"Of course."

"That's not too good, then," He sighed and looked down. "Maybe I need to work on my disguise a bit."

"Who are you?"

"Oh? My name? Hirohata Satoshi, the mysterious mage at your service." He bowed deeply; not in the traditional Japanese way, but in the way someone would after a performance.

"Hmm… that name doesn't suit you very well. What's your _real_ name?"

"But that is my real name," He insisted.

"Hmph," She snorted. "Well then, 'Hirohata', just what are you doing here?"

"Ah, that. Well…" He looked to be thinking something over. "That…"

"Eh?" She leaned forward, waiting. He held up a finger and boasted a cheerful expression.

"…is a secret!"

"…Heh." She cackled again. "Fine, whatever. You don't seem to be causing these things either," She said. "But know that I will keep an eye on you," she said. He merely smiled and shrugged.

"If you can, then go ahead." He turned around and looked around. "It looks like the next one will appear…there…" He suddenly vanished and Cologne narrowed her eyes.

"Definitely worth watching…but I still don't know what the cause of this mess is…" She considered something. 'Maybe he's trying to figure it out as well. Ah, it is of no consequence as of yet.'

---

Chibi-usa de-transformed and panted. She was surrounded by the rapidly deteriorating limbs of demons.

"What…what was that power?" She grunted as she fell over. "I…they…"

"Hmm," Said a voice nearby. She looked up and saw the blue haired man. "You don't even have an Iota of control over that power. I'll tell you now, that was the weakest attack you can do with a real Chaos emerald."

"If that was so weak, then why am I feeling so exhausted?" She grumbled.

"Hmph, that should be obvious," The man turned away just as another one resembling Touya appeared. "Oh, you. What do you want?" Chibi-Usa squinted to try and recognize him. 'Isn't that guy Touya's brother?'

"…I detected the Chaos energy," the other man said simply. "I know what it was now. You shouldn't use it so carelessly," His last comment was directed at the pink-haired girl slumped on the floor.

"Grrr…Sorry for destroying a whole lot of monsters," She snarled. "…Hey, wait a minute. Just what are those things, anyway?"

"They're from Niflheim," a new voice offered. A silver haired man wearing all white approached the three. Chibi-Usa noted that his ears were long and pointed.

"That would be…"

"Some random dimension with power hungry immortal demons," He waved it off as if it was nothing. "More importantly, though, is the level of power in this city. It has sky rocketed in less than two days. A Mazoku, an Elf, and several new presences were detected earlier," He sighed.

"Hmm," The blue haired man nodded. "Yes, it appears as though Yggdrasill has finally awakened."

"I thought so. Mana has been getting thicker," The silver haired man. "It looks like the moment we've been waiting for is finally here,"

"…I only care about the Chaos Emeralds," Shadow said.

"Of course. But we agreed earlier that it would be beneficial for us all to work together-"

"Ahem," Chibi-Usa rudely interrupted them, and they all turned towards her. "Just who the hell are you people?"

"It's none of your concern, little girl," Shadow said.

"On the contrary," the blue haired man started as he stood up. "I've dragged her into this on the behalf of this planet's future, so I think it's alright to tell her…a _few_ things. My name is Shitaru. You might already know Shadow and this is Pallas--"

"Whatever," the Silver haired man interupted. "Do you happen to have a Soul Stone?"

"Not on me,"

"Damn. I guess I can look for one," He smirked as he looked up, then turned around.

-

Not too far away, Cologne was reeling. Before her were four incredibly powerful beings that she could barely believe weren't Gods. This was on a completely different scale from what she was used to. Ranma was usually the strongest; if not in Ki or literal power, than in skill.

Although they were at a point where raw speed and power could be confused with skill, she could tell that, with the exception of the pink haired child, that they were each highly trained in the use of some form of martial arts.

'The control they have is impossible,' She muttered. 'If I did not see it myself, I would not have believed this. There's no way they don't know that I'm here, but they don't seem to care.' She found herself holding her breath when the silver haired one glanced her way and turned around before teleporting off somewhere.

'They were definitely talking about these demons that have appeared tonight. They mentioned the Soul Stone…perhaps…' She nodded to herself and launched away, with a destination in mind.

---

Inuyasha grunted, easily cleaving through one of the youma that had surrounded him with the great Tessaiga. "It really sucks not being able to use any large scale attacks," He grunted again. "They just keep coming. If I could get rid of them once and for all…" He jumped up and seamlessly cleaved another one in half. "They're all so weak too! Bah…"

"Be grateful there isn't a whole flood of them falling from the sky like usual, Inuyasha!" She grunted.

"Keh," The hanyou snorted. "Of course not. Demons don't usually attack like that anyway, and I doubt Naraku is involved in this."

"I don't know," Kagome muttered. "With that slimy bastard, anything is possible…" Inuyasha froze to gawk at her. "What?" She blushed. "I can say those things too!"

Inuyasha only smirked and shook his head as he effortlessly cleaved another monster into pieces. He heard a scream and his head whipped to the side. "What the hell?" He cut through the enemy before him and grunted, jumping over a building just in time to see a demon attacking two small children.

-

"Ranma! Ryouga!" Rie called out. "Where the hell did they go?"

"They left us behind," Suiseiseki growled.

"Dammit," The ten year old looked around. "We've got to find them,"

"How dare they leave us behind like this?!" Suiseiseki growled at the Indignation of it all. "How irresponsible!"

"Suiseiseki-"

"When we find them…"

"Suiseiseki, shut up."

"Eh?!" the doll looked up at the girl in anger. "Who do you think you are to tell me—" The doll looked up as she started talking, only to see Rie simply point forward. She turned to face the direction Rie was pointing before…and promptly screamed.

Just then, a man in red fell from the sky and cleaved the monster before them in two with a massive sword. Suiseiseki stopped screaming and blinked several times.

The man with the funny ears' nose twitched several times.

"What the hell…one of you isn't human at all…"

"Ah…" Suiseiseki took a step back. "You're…"

"Hmph, well it isn't any of my business what you're doing, but you should go hide somewhere else," Inuyasha snorted before he leapt away. Just as he did that, they could hear two voices calling out.

"Rie! Suiseiseki!"

"Over here!" Rie called out. Soon, the two boys rounded a corner and ran into them.

"Where did you two go?"

"Yeah, how'd you get side tracked like that? We were worried about you!"

"_Excuse _me," Rie growled, offended. "But you two morons were the ones who weren't paying attention when we were attacked!"

"E…eh…" Ranma blinked.

"Oh…yeah."

Suddenly, the ground looked a lot more interesting to the two boys.

"Honestly," Rie crossed her arms. "How do you guys manage that stuff though? These things… we only managed to evade one until this guy in red came out with this huge sword and cut it up," she admitted. Ryouga looked up in surprise.

'Red clothes, huge sword…' "This guy, were his ears weird in anyway?"

"Hmm? Yeah, he had funny little dog ears," She said in retrospect. "That was weird. I couldn't see any real ears on the side of his head…"

"That's because they're real," Ryouga said.

"What? You know this guy, Ryouga?"

"He was at that fight last week…"

"Then maybe we can ask him for help," Ranma nodded. "I'm not dumb enough to think we can take on this endless flood of monsters by ourselves," He said.

"We'd have to find him first," Ryouga shook his head. "That guy's as good at getting around as we are."

"Huh…well I guess we'll run into him sooner or later," The boys said. "For now, lets—"

"Son-in-law!" called out a familiar voice.

"Oh great…" Ranma's hand flew up to his head and he sighed. "This is just wonderful…"

"There you are," the old woman announced as she came down before them. She noticed the two girls and looked at them. "Who are these two?"

"Ah, this is Rie and that's Suiseiseki," Ranma said hurriedly. 'Introductions can wait.'

"Hajimemashite," Rie intoned with a polite bow.

"Hmm," The older woman nodded. Her eyes rested on the doll for just a bit before she turned her attention to the teenagers.

"I need you to come with me," she said.

"Eh, why?"

"I'm sure you've noticed something different today," she said with a gleam in her eye. "I believe I have a way to end this mess, but I'll require your assistance."

-

A short while later, the five were standing in front of the Nekohanten. Mousse and Shampoo came out of the café prepared for battle but both sighed with relief upon realizing who it was.

"Great-grandmother, is you!" the purple headed girl said. "And Airen!" The girl moved to glomp Ranma but Cologne motioned for her to stop.

"Shampoo, you and Mousse are to watch these two children," She said, motioning Rie and Suiseiseki. "Ryouga and Muko-dono are coming with me to stop this nonsense," She gave no time for response as she pogoed into the restaurant.

Ranma whistled as he noticed all of the people inside of the restaurant. "Well, I guess this would be one of the safest place with the both of them guarding it," He said to Ryouga. The lost boy only nodded. Soon Cologne was back out with two identical rocks that were obviously the halves of one.

"What now? That's the soul stone you told us about on the way here, right?"

"Now you take that and destroy Niflheim," a new voice said. They all looked to the side and all of the martial artists, with the exception of Rie and Cologne's eyes bugged. "That is the source of these creatures." He had a certain air of divinity about him, and power rolled off of man before them in visible waves, but the range of detection was such that he had to be nearby.

"K-Kami-sama," Ryouga breathed.

"Not quite," The man in white smirked. Ranma squinted for a second and blinked.

"Wait, I saw you earlier. You were the one that destroyed that monster with that…Chi Arrow…"

"Yes, that was me," He nodded. "I didn't think either of you had noticed me."

"Eh," Ranma shrugged. "Who are you?"

"My name is Pallas," he shrugged.

"Pallas…What kind of name is that?" Ranma asked, confused.

"Really old, don't worry about it," He said. "As for the Soul Stone, you must take that and burn the Soul Fire to the deepest pit of Niflheim. That should shut them up for another…oh, at least eighteen thousand years, give or take…"

"E-eighteen thousand years? _Another_?" By now, even Cologne had to gawk. She could tell that the man was immortal; for something to be as powerful as he was and not be far, _far_ older than her was impossible. But… 'Another eighteen thousand years?'

"Err, yeah," He blinked. "Really, it's not that big a deal," He shrugged. "It happens every few years, so I'm used to it." He sweat dropped when they continued to gawk at him. "Uh, well let's get going, shall we?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Ranma asked.

"That's right," Cologne nodded. "You haven't told us where we're going, or why we should even trust you."

"Well, the fact that I could have destroyed all of you by now should be indication enough," He raised an eyebrow. Almost everyone had to agree with that.

Rie did not.

"Who the heck do you think you are, talking to us like that?" She asked, stepping up. Ryouga made a panicked noise and moved to stop her. "These two are the strongest martial artists I've ever seen. You don't even look like a martial artist."

Indeed, as he was dressed in a full white suit of spandex complete with golden seams, He did appear to be quite…different.

"Eh," He shrugged. "Well whatever. If you want to refuse my help…" He turned around and began levitating away.

"Wait!" Cologne called out. She glared at the back of the young girl's head and pogoed towards Pallas. "You must forgive her, Ancient One, for the child knows not what she speaks."

"Hmm?" He turned and smirked.

"I humbly beseech you to aid us in any way possible," She lowered her head. Shampoo almost instinctively reacted in anger; for a woman to lower her head to a male that way would have been insulting if it wasn't for the fact that even _she_ could tell that the man before them was no _ordinary_ male. He hadn't even directly denied his being a god.

The man's smirk was condescending, but no one dared to make a move against him.

"All right," He said, turning around. "If that is what you desire…then I will assist you."

"Yes," the elder looked up. "What should we do now?"

"Your earlier commands are well enough. Those two over there," He pointed at Ranma and Ryouga. "Will come with us. The other four are to stay here and do their best to keep the innocents safe."

"Wait," Ranma said. "Where are we going?" He asked.

"Watch." The Soul Stone in Cologne's possession appeared in the man's left hand, fused. He held it up and it glowed blindingly bright. Suddenly, a rather large portal opened before them. Before anything else, however, a man wearing odd western attire appeared before the portal.

"Oh my, this is a surprise." He said, looking down at the people below him. "You people wouldn't be planning to go in here, would you?" Ranma and the others looked up at him in confusion.

'How is he hovering like that? It's…It's more like he's standing on an invisible surface…' Ranma thought. He growled to himself. 'What's with all of these people stronger than me coming out of nowhere?'

"Actually, we were," The white haired man frowned as he spoke up. "Where'd you come from?" The purple haired man smiled and held up a finger.

"Sore wa himitsu desu," he said simply.

"What the hell?" Pallas growled. "Great, just what I needed…a 'Secret Keeping Mazoku'…Do you come with an instruction manual?" The purple haired man only continued smiling. It was somewhat eerie… "Atleast give me your name, Mazoku."

"Hmm," The 'mazoku' looked thoughtful before smiling and raising his finger again. "Sore wa himitsu desu ne,"

"Oh really?" Pallas smirked. "Ranma, your energy attacks are based off of emotions, are they not?" He asked, turning to the boy. Ranma took a moment to realized they were talking to him before he simply nodded, dumbfounded. "Can you focus a special one made with love, happiness, and hope? You know, all of that fun stuff," He asked.

The purple haired man's eye began to twitch after that. Cologne snickered as she realized what Pallas was doing.

"Uh…I don't see why not," Ranma shrugged. "I'm not sure if it'd hurt anyone, though,"

"Please, use that on him," He said, pointing at the Mazoku.

"…Okay," Ranma shrugged before he closed his eyes and focused. The emotions were very alien to him, but he could remember some of it from his earliest, early child hood memories. Times where he was surrounded by both of his parents, when neither seemed out of their minds and he felt totally secure.

He opened his eyes to see a white ki ball in his hands with several patches of many different colors. Pink, light blue, light green, yellow… He shrugged once again before he reared back and prepared to throw it at the Mazoku.

"That will not be necessary," The Mazoku said. Ranma blinked and realized that, while the floating man's face was pale, sweat was readily visible on him. "For my name is…Satoshi, the Mysterious Mage!"

'He called _himself_ a "Mysterious Mage"…' more than one person present thought.

"Can you get rid of that?" Satoshi looked at Ranma.

"Why?" the teen asked seriously.

"Just do it, Ranma." Pallas said. The teen shrugged and re-absorbed the ball of Ki. No reason to waste energy of any sort in the middle of a fight on this scale.

"…Anyway, what do you want? We're in the middle of something."

"Actually, my original intention was to destroy the origin of these portals, but it looks like that's been taken care of. I guess we'll meet again, hmm?" He said.

"…" Pallas raised an eyebrow. 'Destroy a prime source of negative emotions? That's not very Mazoku like at all.' "Do as you will."

"Of course." The Mazoku continued smiling and vanished again.

---

Negi frowned as he used his magic archer for the Nth time that night. Their enemies seemed to be respawning at a rate that was faster than the rate they were being destroyed.

That was bad.

"This is pointless," He breathed as several arrows flew at his opponents. Asuna and Kotarou seemed to be holding their own; they'd long since split up from the other fighters, reasoning that they could take down more enemies if they had split up.

"Satsugeki Bukou Ken!"

Negi cringed as he heard Kotarou call out his new technique. It was a technique that was an amalgam of many other techniques that the boy had learned previously. Technically, because of it's name it could be done with either a sword or a fist, but Kotarou was doing it with his claws.

The end result was…well…quite messy.

'I can't believe he thought up that technique with me in mind,' he thought, troubled as the hanyou before him effortlessly cut through the enemy with his claws. Blood sprayed and flowed where the whirlwind of claws passed through. At the pace they were going, the enemies should have been defeated already, but there appeared to be an endless supply of them.

Suddenly, the number of creatures engaging them was zero. They looked around, battle weary and slightly confused.

"Is that it?" Kotarou asked.

"Negi!" Asuna called out as she ran towards him. Negi was already on his wand, waiting. "What's going on? Did we kill them all?"

"They're not targeting us any more," Negi said simply. "They're all targeting…" They both froze and Kotarou looked at them.

"What? You guys sensing something?"

"It's…" Negi blinked. "Come on, let's go!" Asuna joined him on the wand and he took to the skies. "Kotarou, come on!" He yelled out as he flew away. The hanyou shrugged and followed them on the roofs of buildings.

When Satoshi appeared before them, floating in the air, Negi's eyes opened significantly and he held up his wand in an effort to stop.

"W-what?!" Asuna nearly screamed as she tried to hold on. They nearly crashed several times, and when they did finally slow down, they both realized that Satoshi was sitting on the end of Negi's wand as well.

"Negi-Kun," The man said. "That was quite dangerous, wasn't it? I don't see a seat belt on either of you."

"Why you…" Asuna's eye twitched and she clenched her fist several times. "You asshole! You nearly killed us!" She grabbed him in a headlock and proceeded to attempt to choke the life out of him.

"Ah, ah- Asuna-san," He said with a gravely voice. "That kinda hurts,"

"Die," She hissed.

"A-Asuna-san!" Negi started. Below them, Kotarou merely chuckled.

-

"Someone else appeared to have it under control, so I decided we should not interfere," He said.

"Oh?" Negi asked. "But how can you be sure?"

"_Trust_ me on this, Negi-Kun. I can simply tell these things."

"I don't think so," Asuna said, a hand on her hip. "If they're anything like the earlier people, they'll need our help more than anything,"

"What?"

"Yeah," Kotarou said. "Besides, I'm not about to let some cheesy cheerleading group get all of the credit for our hard work," He smirked.

"You appeared to be enjoying yourself," Satoshi said.

"So what?" Kotarou said, hopping away. "I think it's already decided that we're going to help them,"

"Asuna-san, this goes against your nature," Negi pointed out.

"I know, but if all goes wrong and they lose, we'll have to deal with them sooner or later." 'It always comes down to us,' She thought, miffed. Satoshi looked at her with a grin for a second before shrugging.

"Mou…It's not possible to follow them," Satoshi said with a sigh.

"Why not?"

"From what I heard, they've gone to a place that humans would not be able to survive in…"

"That should be no problem for you, right?" added a new voice.

"Eh," Satoshi blinked when Aiko appeared behind him. "Maybe not, but I don't think I could support you four in there," He said. "It would be rather…difficult, to say the least." Negi and Asuna blinked at him.

'Wait a minute, isn't he human too?' Asuna looked on in confusion. 'But if he's not, what is he?'

"Anyway," Satoshi said. "I think it would be best to get back to your station."

"You're joking, right?" Kotarou asked. He motioned their surroundings. Various rubble surrounded them; parts of the city were in complete ruins.

"Hmm…You're right, that could be troublesome," The mage said, rubbing his chin. "However, I believe I can rectify that…"

---

"What the hell is this place?!" Ryouga asked. They were standing on a transparent platform, and all around them was a green fog. The platform was connected by a walkway to an identical platform and the other one appeared to continue the path.

"Quite," Pallas snorted unceremoniously. "Allow me to explain the rules of Niflheim. The platforms are arranged in a series of mazes. The Soul Stone is the only reason we can exist here; with the exception of the natives and other demonic sort, any life forms that entered would die in minutes from the atmosphere alone. That's assuming they were as highly trained as you three," He said. "But even the Soul Stone's power is not absolute here. It's power degenerates as we move. The only way for it to remain effective is the light the Soul Fire torches along the way."

'Eh? Soul Fire? Where have I heard that before?' Ranma thought to himself.

"…eepest part of the dimension is where we can use the soulfire to seal this dimension for another few millennia," He said in a tone of finality. "Now then, shall we?" He asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"We're going to destroy the source of those monsters. You know, the ones that were ravaging Tokyo a little while ago?"

"Oh…How are we going to do that? Why couldn't you do that alone?"

"Because taking you along amuses me," The man said putting a hand up to his face. "Although now I am wondering if it was the correct decision…"

"I believe it would be best if we were to continue on our path as soon as possible," Cologne spoke up.

"Yes, that is true. Let us be on our way," Pallas led the group across a walkway.

---

Asuna, Negi and Kotarou stared in shock at their surroundings.

What had been reduced to rubble seconds ago now showed no signs of stress or decay. The entire city had been magically reconstructed in seconds.

"There," Satoshi said, his usual smile set on his face. "Shall we go, children?" Kotarou was the first to recover.

"What is this 'We'? You're not being provided for at our expense! You're a grown man!"

"Ow, that hurts so much," Satoshi said, not loosening his smile at all. "Fine, I'll sleep out in the garbage. You wouldn't happen to have any pointers for living the homeless life, would you, Kotarou-Kun?" A fist to the face was his answer. Aiko took a step towards them both.

"That's enough, idiot," She said, grabbing Satoshi by the arm. "You kids go on home, Satoshi and I still have our own jobs to get back to." She turned around and started practically dragging him away. Kotarou merely growled at their retreating forms. Negi put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's not like you to lose your cool that easily," Negi said. "Did something happen?"

"No," Kotarou said, swatting his friend/rival's hand off of his shoulder. "That guy just brings out the worst in me, that's all." He leapt up the side of a building that had been destroyed and bounded off of it, continuing upwards towards the roof of one opposite of it on the street, then away towards their apartment. Negi sighed and sat himself at the head of his wand. When Asuna did not get on, he turned around to look at her.

"Asuna-san, is something wrong?" He asked. He blinked as he found her looking up at the sky with a blank look. "Asuna-san?" She reacted with surprise and her gaze fell down to the boy.

"Oh, sorry," She said. "I was just thinking."

"Oh? What of?"

"That man…Satoshi. He reminds me…no, never mind. It's nothing," She said, joining him on the wand. "Let's go," She put her arms around him and held tightly.

"Hang on,"

---

"Sailor Mercury, can you tell us what in Serenity's name just happened?"

"Ah, I'm trying to figure that out right now," said Senshi explained. "Here we go… apparently, a new energy source appeared and then just as quickly vanished while that white glow encompassed the city… the energy used is unidentifiable, although the source is from something I managed to scan earlier tonight…"

"That would be..?" the Senshi of Time spoke up.

"Ah, well I'm not quite sure," She said. Most of the Senshi blink-blinked at that. "It's indefinite, but this man is, according to the Mercury Computer, something called a 'Mazoku.'" When she finished, the Senshi, with the sole exception of Setsuna looked at her in confusion.

Setsuna was white as sheet rock.

"A _Mazoku_? You are absolutely, _positively_ sure that the man identified was a Mazoku?" She asked.

"Ah, well it's one of the possible things for him to be," she said. 'Didn't I just say that it was indefinite..?'

"What's up, Setsuna?" Minako spoke up. "You look 'absolutely, _positively'_ spooked. Is this 'Mazoku' guy something we should know about?"

"Yes, and I will tell you in due time. For now, however…" She looked around the group. "Where is Chibi-Usa?"

"I'm right here," a voice said from the side. They all turned to see an exhausted looking Chibi-Usa staggering towards them. Almost all of the Senshi with the exceptions of Setsuna and Ami rushed over to join her. "I'm okay, I'm okay. Just tired from Solo-ing tons of demons," She spat, swatting at them somewhat bitterly. 'I know it was that guy's fault, but I didn't think it would be that easy for them to forget about me…'

"Hmm?" Mercury blinked at her Computer.

"What is it?" Usagi asked. "Is something wrong?"

"It's—"

"Nothing," Setsuna answered for the other Senshi. "Nothing at all." When the other looked at her, she merely spared her a sidelong glance. 'We'll talk later' was interpreted by the Mercurial Senshi, who gave a slight nod in response. "As for now, I would suggest we rest. The Mercury Computer will need some time to gather and organize all of the data from today. It is late; these are matters that can be discussed tomorrow," She said with a long sigh.

"That is acceptable to me," Usagi nodded.

"All right,"

And with that, they were done for the night.

---

"Halt." Pallas said suddenly, causing the two younger members of the group to stumble over themselves. "Something is wrong."

"Indeed," The Cologne nodded.

"Eh?" Ryouga asked as he picked himself up.

"It's too quiet," Ranma said as he stood. "This has to be a trap or something, right?"

"We haven't had to avoid a single monster of any sort at all." Pallas pointed out. "We've had no enemies for two straight floors. Something is quite _obviously_ amiss." He scanned the horizon, but found nothing other than the endless, identical maze of platforms connected by walkways. "This is most unusual."

"Whatever the case, we can only make progress at this rate. You said earlier that the only way to leave Niflheim was to use the torches that lit with green fire, or by lighting the massive torch at it's end, yes?"

"That is correct," He nodded. "Let us continue."

-

A little over an hour later, the group came upon their eighteenth teleporter.

"This should be the last one. The large torch should be beyond this floor," He said. "However…I have a feeling that something other than Living Armor is waiting for us," He muttered the last part.

"Living Armor?"

"An ancient set of possessed armor older than myself and crafted to fit a giant," He said. "It appears as though that bit of information is unimportant, though." He stepped onto the teleporter and was enveloped by the bright blue glow. "Don't dawdle." The next to follow was Cologne, leaving the two boys alone.

"Man, we're in way over our heads on this one, Saotome." Ryouga said.

"I'd bet on it," Ranma sighed and they both stepped on the teleporter at once and vanished within its sudden blue glow.

Seconds later, the two were greeted with a sight not too different from two of the rooms they had been in before. The usual square shaped platforms had been replaced with a single round one. They joined Pallas on the opposite side of the platform, but before they could ask anything, Pallas spoke up.

"The torch is gone." He said. "The transporter on this side is broken," Ranma and Ryouga turned to notice the device; and indeed, its usual metallic, blue surface was cracked and the usual glow, gone as well. "And I don't see Living Armor anywhere," He said. "This does not make sense." The three stared at him, the oldest of the three wondering if they had been deceived by the man. Sensing her discomfort, he began speaking his thoughts aloud again. "It started not making sense when all of those monsters breached the surface. That is not Niflheim's usual method of attack. Their aim is to slowly corrupt humankind until we are forced into total anarchy or some other undesirable fate, then assuming control and carrying out the torture of the damned,"

He was met with two expressions of surprise and an emotionless mask.

"Why would they want to do that? I mean, aside from being evil?" Ryouga asked. "It seems incredibly complicated and drawn out…"

"To be brief, they are Mazoku. Some of the only surviving Mazoku of Aselia, I might add."

"What the hell is a Mazoku?" Ranma asked this time.

"Mazoku are a type of demon that literally feed and gain nourishment from the darker emotions of human kind; Fear, Hatred, Despair…You remember that man that appeared earlier? The one claiming to be a mage by the name of Satoshi? He was also a Mazoku, but a very powerful one, as he was able to hold a human form. Living armor and Hell Knight, the leaders of Niflheim are much lower in power, as neither are able to hold anything even close to a human form. However, even still, they were incredibly powerful, and a Mazoku can only be truly killed by an attack on the astral plane. Seeing as how Niflheim is controlled by the Living Armor, it is impossible for my clan to destroy him in this world. That is how they were able to revive after a lengthened period of time.

"However, this time, not only did they send their forces to Earth, understandably to cause pain and anguish to those living in it, but they sent _all_ of their forces. That was a tactical mistake, and a grievous error that Living Armor does not tend to make. Now their entire army of demons is nonexistent, which would explain why we received no resistance upon entering and traversing Niflheim. This would also indirectly explain the absences of Living armor and Hell Knight," Pallas said, gritting his teeth to suppress a curse. A teal magic circle inlaid with runes appeared at his feet and he closed his eyes, as he began chanting in a language none of the others present had ever heard before.

"That's right, boys and girls," Came a new voice. Ryouga's blood ran cold. Not because of the sound of the voice; the voice was all too familiar as it belonged to the boy standing next to him. The intent and power behind the voice, however, was something that had been ingrained into his memories forever.

It was laced with the deadly killing intent of someone who had such a disregard for human life that it could be only called evil. They all turned around, and Pallas did not falter with his spell at all.

"Niflheim is under new management!" a near mirror image of Ranma yelled out. The only differences were the red/blue eyes, clawed hands, and unmistakable sadistic grin plastered on his face.

Ryouga had a quick flashback involving Ranma unconciously vomiting an inky black pool of what appeared to be pure darkness before their battleground caved in.

"W…What the hell?" Ranma uttered in surprise. When he noticed the looks of pure, utter terror on Ryouga's and Cologne's faces, it was more than enough to confuse him. "What the hell is going on? Who are you?"

"Ha ha ha ha. I'm Ranma!" He laughed even more.

Pallas' incantation was lost on Ranma as he studied his alternate self, still shocked over Ryouga and Cologne's initial reactions..

"CYCLONE!" The man yelled out and several new runes lit up around him, magical symbols floating in the air. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a large cyclone began to form around Dark Ranma, ruthlessly tearing at him. The vacuum inside nearly shredded his clothes, but appeared to make no difference to the dark warrior.

When all was done, Yami Ranma only continued his incessant laughing. Pallas nearly lost his cool at the state of his allies. "What are you fools waiting for? Attack!"

Shaken from their stupor, Ryouga, Ranma and Cologne instantly engaged the demonic incarnation of the pig-tailed boy. He appeared, however, to have no trouble at all dodging or blocking any of their frenzied attacks, enhanced by pure, undisturbed fear and the need to survive. That he was doing so and laughing, however, was only discouraging.

"Get out of the way!" The silver haired man commanded suddenly. "Explosion!"

The three fighters pulled back to see a red shadow appear under Yami Ranma. They looked up to see a speeding missile of some sort falling towards him at rapid speed. The ensuing isolated explosion was almost five meters in diameter with Yami Ranma in the center. When the blast dome died away seconds later, an unharmed looking Dark Ranma was standing there with his ever present grin as a blue barrier of energy died away.

"I actually had to guard myself against that one," he chuckled. "So let's be serious, shall we?" His left hand rose and he pointed two fingers at Ranma and Ryouga. Suddenly, their Jusenkyo curses were activated, reducing one to a defenseless swine and the other to a slighty-weaker-if-slightly-faster-but-definitely-feminine version of himself.

"What the hell?! Why did I turn into a girl?!" Ranma asked.

"As the destroyer and inheritor of Niflheim, he has the power to control the world as he pleases to a certain extent," Pallas explained, already working on another spell.

"Such as activating a water-based curse with no water," Cologne nodded. "We must be extra careful, then."

"Blah, blah, blah," Dark Ranma said. "You people are boring me with your extensive dialogue. Shall I end your lives now?" He smirked.

Cologne and Ranma-chan then continued their frontal assault as P-chan hid behind Pallas, seething with anger and depression at being useless. Ranma-chan was knocked to the side and Dark-Ranma immediately intensified his attacks on Cologne. The elder was, to Ranma and Ryouga's surprise, quickly overwhelmed and sent over the platform, flying out into the space of Niflheim.

"Cologne!" Ranma-chan cried out, as the woman disappeared from their view. The girl's eyes were wet with tears that she did not know she had and they began to freely flow as the prospect of her mentor's death was made reality.

"Ha ha ha, she didn't last too long and now I'm bored again," He turned to Ranma-Chan. "Will you play with me?"

"You…" She turned to face Yami Ranma with a new fire burning in her eyes. The boy only stood there with a pleased look on his face. "You'll pay for this! I swear, you bastard, you're gonna die!" She immediately became a human torch of the green fire associated with depression. "SHI SHI HOKUDAN!" She screamed the name of the attack as she launched an impressive blast of chi at her evil twin. He dodged and smirked as he approached her. He didn't have to go to far as she launched her self at him, closing the distance at a speed even he admitted he would have found hard to match, a frenzy of attacks and full powered techniques. She only realized too late, however, the spiral they were moving in.

"Hiryu Shöten Ha!" He called out the name of the attack with a simple grin. As he threw an uppercut that barely missed his opponent. She almost screamed as a massive tornado of energy enclosed the entire platform. Both Pallas and Dark Ranma were unmoved by it; Yami Ranma maintaining the soul of ice required to use it, and Pallas, though not having seen the technique before, was able to see how it worked as Yami Ranma prepared it. Unfortunately, due to his current incantation, he was unable to yell out a warning to the red-haired berserker. The tiny piglet had been caught in the winds, however, and was also promptly tossed off of the platform.

"To the light that shines like the heavens, Hear my call," Pallas started, nearly complete with his spell. Yami Ranma paid him little mind as he watched the sky, waiting for the red headed female version of himself to fall. "To the gates of the underworld, open up and hear thy call!" Yami Ranma's eye twitched as he sensed a serious gathering of power from the ancient elven mage. "Come forth, Lightning of God!" His gaze fell to the man and he gave a disapproving sigh. "This is the end!" He called out and symbols of mana gathered around him.

"Indignation!" Suddenly, there was a deep, deep rumbling noise and a huge bolt of lightning struck Yami Ranma, knocking him off of his feet with a great explosion of energy. The initial blast had sent shockwaves through out the platform, destroying the cyclone of air that Yami Ranma had summoned, as well as taking a rather large chunk of the floor away. The mage cursed.

"Dammit, that spell seems to be weaker in here for some reason," He muttered. Finally, Ranma-chan fell down from the sky, and landed on the ground, creating a rather large crater. "But it seems he's gone-" He promptly fell forward, paralyzed and shaking.

"Nope, still here," Dark Ranma said from behind him smugly. "Although I'll admit that was rather dangerous. For all your posturing, you do seem to have _some_ measure of power within you," He smirked. "Unfortunately, that was not enough, and now you will pay the ultimate price." While he had been talking, he had picked up the man and rather easily carried him to the side. "You see, Living Armor and Hell Knight were both fools. They had such power over you and your pathetic friends, but never could figure it out." He was answered only by silence; the pressure points he'd pushed on the elf were enough to sure that he could barely even breath; and that he had to make a conscious effort to do so.

"You may indeed be very powerful; if we had not been in this world, I would have died before our battle even started," He admitted. "However, you made the mistake that all with great power eventually do. You were careless." He held him over the edge and gave a humourous laugh once again. "Good bye, fool!" He dropped the elf and watched as his form disappeared into the foggy red depths of Niflheim's atmosphere. There was a moan behind him and he grinned turning to face the only combatant left. "I see you're still alive,"

"You…bastard…" the girl choked out as blood oozed out of her mouth and from many wounds.

"I believe you've met my father before. About five tons, black and white spots, and would make for a very nice Panda Skin," He said with a grin. "Skinned and cleaned by yours truly, of course."

"You…ain't gonna do…a damned…thing to…oyaji," She breathed out. Sure, the old man was a nuisance, one that viewed her as being close to expendable as you could be without actually being it, but she still owed him for taking part in creating her.

"You really are a pathetic girl. All emotional and weak, just like a girl," He smirked as he walked over to her. "Hey, sweet-cheeks, you like what you see?" He asked, standing in her field of vision. "I bet you'd just love to get your hands all over this, you sick, depraved little slut," His evil grin intensified as she growled. "What's wrong, can't get up? Are you really that weak? Come on, girl, stand up and show me what you've got!" He kicked her in the side, laughing. "Or do you want to be coddled and just let a real man do all the work for you while you walk around, barefoot and pregnant-"

"Urusai!" she screamed.

"I'm not going to stop talking just because a weak little girl asked me to," He said. "You know, I've been talking as if you'd accept being a girl, one hundred percent." Instantly, he switched over to the feminine persona of Ranma and held up her bust. "Maybe you intend on being some kind of freak? Is that it?"

"I'm…not sick or depraved…like you," She barely managed to get out before she coughed up some blood. "You're pure evil…you already are some kind of freak,"

"Hahaha, why thank you!" She, now he again guffawed, much to Ranma-chan's chagrin. "You know, I try, and I just thought no one was noticing!"

"Temee," Ranma-chan said in a garbled voice.

"Haaa.." He wiped a tear of mirth away. "So how would you like to make a deal,"

Ranm-chan responded with silence.

"Yes, a deal. You allow me back into your body to balance out that pussy-whipped attitude of yours, and I allow your friends and you to leave this place, also destroying Niflheim."

"Back…into my…body..?" the girl asked in confusion.

"Ah yes, that's right, you don't know, do you? They lied to you about what happened a week or so ago, you know. Here, let me show you!" Ranma-chan's eyes went unfocused as she was forced to relive a memory. She could remember enjoying herself as she used a simple reversal technique to rip a hanyou to shreds, brutally and without regret literally _beat_ the two girls that had become closer to him than his own family, ending with knocking out his new friend and tutor by slamming him into a wall.

All without breaking a sweat and enjoying himself, as she had been, at the time.

"No…"

"That's right, Ranma," Yami-Ranma laughed. "You nearly killed them, and you were _happy_ about it. You wanted to rip them apart, taste their blood, crush their organs in your hands, and destroy every ounce of life within them."

"No…I could never…"

"You could, and you nearly did," Dark Ranma scowled. "And you will again, soon!" He laughed bitterly.

"No! No…I…no…" the girl's voice was barely less than a squeak.

"You will again, that is, unless you balance yourself out." Dark Ranma laughed. "By accepting me into your body, and mind, so that we can be whole again!" He growled. "You've been a fool all your life; stolen by your father, sold by said worthless excuse for life and beaten into an inch of your life as a means of training. But at that time, you had some hope that one day you could get back at your father. Then the curse came." He was silent for a good while as Ranma-chan remembered what had happened.

"The day you grew breasts was the day you lost all semblance of hope. And every time thereafter a cure was mentioned, then discredited, it only destroyed us even further. You were so broken that when you came to the Tendo Dojo, you settled right in with nary a complaint,"

"That's not true!" Ranma-chan screamed.

"It is so and you know it! You could have left and searched for a cure! You could have, but you didn't!" the Dark entity growled as he clenched a fist, drawing his own blood. "It was then that I began to develop myself separate of you. After that, every incident that you could have resolved in a more self-satisfying way, I grew more powerful, more vindictive, and even more determined to take control of our body and get you out of every stupid situation you and your old man had put you in. Then came that fateful day, only a week ago," He smiled as if he was remembering something. "Sweet, _sweet_ revenge, Ranma. Do you know it? You do not know it the way I do. I always knew, you know. Who Chibi-Usa and Usagi were. The beatings they received were to put them in their proper place, you know? Beneath men, beneath _us_-"

"Shut up, Shut up, Shut up, SHUT UP!" Ranma-chan screamed. "I don't care about who or what you are. But I know…" She had to stop as she dry heaved.

"If you're about to say that you'd never join up with the likes of me, stuff it, moron. I've seen that crap on those television shows that you watch, and you know what happens? The hero always gets faced with a situation where he either gets killed, barely survives, changed forever…or he takes up his rival and nemesis up on his offer. I was prepared for this, you great fool. That's why I took the time to do you the favor of eliminating Living Armor and Hell Knight, ending their presence up on Earth as well."

"You…fool. Tons of people died tonight because of you…You aren't trying to save the world, you're trying to save yourself," she growled.

"I beg to differ. A new mutual friend of ours managed to reject all of that. In other words, the complete and total destruction of Juuban, Nerima, Furinkan, and all of Tokyo never happened."

"Wh…What?"

"You see, he came to me with interesting news," Dark Ranma started. "And for the last few days, while Hell Knight and Living Armor's astral bodies rotted, I considered things." Dark Ranma Paused, as he seemed to be flickering. "Damn, my time with you is over for now," He smirked, an evil disturbing smile that oozed hate and evil, as a result, looking horribly misplaced on Ranma's face.

"W…what's happening?"

"Don't worry, Ranma-_chan­,_ We'll have another chance to speak like this. You can count on it."

"Damn you…" She said as the world faded from view and she closed her eyes.

-

"He's waking up," Pallas' voice came from Ranma's left. Ranma's eyes opened and he greeted the world with a fatigued sigh.

'Am I really…like that?' He remembered his alternate self's mocking attitude towards women. 'No…I'm not like that…I don't think women are beneath me…do I?'

"Ranma, are you all right?" came a wizened old voice from…up. He assumed he was lying down; all sensation of touch had not yet returned to him.

"Ah, I'm fine…what happened?"

"Niflheim is a dream world," Pallas elaborated. "Although it is quite easy to maintain and understand; technically if you are dreaming you are in control, that evil version of you used up all of his energy in doing so."

"So that's why I'm male…and not torn up?" the disoriented boy asked.

"Yes, that's exactly right." Pallas said. "It seems you've stabilized." He took a step back as Ranma stood up and took in his surroundings. They were all standing in front of the cat café, with the buildings and street looking none the worse for the wear.

"He wasn't lying…" Ranma muttered.

"Excuse me?" Cologne asked.

"Nothing," He said. "Do we know how the world was restored?" He was greeted with the shakes of many a head, but the newest member of their group's expression was actually quite grim.

"It's a time/space event-rejecting spell. But to have been on this scale, it would have had to been done by someone very powerful. I wasn't present for it, and the only one of my companions on Aselia at the moment isn't allowed to directly intervene in such a way."

"Rejection…spell?" Cologne asked. Pallas nodded.

"An advanced spell that erases or even rewinds events. Any one not protected by magic of some sort has totally forgotten what happened. Things went on as they would have if Niflheim's forces had never attacked."

"Oh…" Ranma nodded, understanding. "I…I suppose that's all well and good," He said. "That we're the only ones who remember…"

"Yes, well, I must be leaving now. We will meet again, however; I feel fate has much in store for you and your friends," the elven man said. They all nodded as he became enshrouded in white light before flashing upwards at a speed Ranma thought only Touya could match.

---

"That was quite odd, though when everything returned to normal," Shinku said.

"This night has really been crazy," Jun said, sitting on his bed. "I gained super powers reserved for freaks with superiority complexes and ditzes that spew the word 'Seigi' every few seconds," he grumbled.

"At least Nori was home, safe and sound, when we returned," Shinku pointed out.

"Yes, there's that," Jun sighed as he looked out his window as a certain planet. 'I feel as if something I have been waiting for a long time has finally arrived, but how? This is damn confusing,'

---

Kuno grunted as he shifted Nabiki in his arms, carrying her bridal-style to her house. She had told him she was feeling too ill to walk the whole way, and was now asleep in his arms.

"Let her believe it was all some twisted dream," He said. "I'll have to re-engage that odd persona of mine again, but it should come easily," he grunted, knocking on the shoji screen before setting her gently on the ground. He looked at her peaceful form again before turning away.

"I must make haste, before the lady awakes and my plans are made null," He sighed, leaping away.

Seconds later, the Shoji Screen that Nabiki had been leaned against opened quickly, allowing the middle Tendo sister to fall inside.

"Nabiki?"

Needless to say, a string of expletives followed.

-----

Later that night (Closer to morning,) Ryouga woke up at his usual time. Wondering why he had woken up so early, as the previous night's activies should had kept him immobilized for a while longer.

He got up for a cup of water and slowly walked through the inky darkness of his house, when he heard the sound of a girl sobbing. He saw the rough shape of a girl sitting at his western dining table and fear gripped him; had something happened to his sister?

He silently made his way closer towards Rie, not wanting to surprise her, but still curious as to what the problem could be. When he got close enough, however, the dim light was enough to reveal that the hair on the girl's head was red, not the usual black or dark brown of his clan.

"Ranma?"

Omake:

---------

"You…fool. Tons of people died tonight because of you…You aren't trying to save the world, you're trying to save yourself," she growled.

"I beg to differ. Sacrifices must be made in order for a revolution to occur. If everyone becomes the same, there will be no discrimination. That is the way to save the world!"

"No it's not!"

"What you're doing is the same. You're trying to save your friends, are you not?"

"I'm not the same! I'm trying to save my friends and the world! You're just a coward who gave up!"

"Why can't you agree with my perfect vision?!"

"How can your vision be perfect if millions of innocent people have to die?"

"Human! Do not tell me what is right and wrong!"

---Fin---

was it good?


	8. Secrets

Disclaimer: None of the series, characters, or locations mentioned in this story are owned by the author of this story unless stated otherwise.

Come on, people… it's discouraging to write with no reviews. If it's bad, tell me it's bad and how I can fix it. If it's good, don't leave me hanging…

Also, any other glaring errors will be fixed tomorrow 'cause I'm too lazy to fix it right now.

---

??? – 0300 Hours

---

In the midst of darkness there is a long, luminescent table. A variety of people sit around this surface; at its head is a man with short, brown looking well into his twenties. His hair is slicked up into small spikes and a small portion of the front curls down over his left eye. Both of his eyes are brown and his face is unblemished. The only visible part of his body is covered in familiar white spandex. He had a smirk settled on his face and was staring straight ahead.

At the other end of the table sits a familiar man with lengthened ears and flowing white hair. His face was cool and expressionless, and he was wearing the same spandex-like material that all of the table's attendants were wearing.

"Pallas." The brown haired man spoke. "What is your assessment of the people on the surface?"

"…" Pallas was silent for a time. His eyes passed over the others at the table and he finally spoke. "…The surface dwellers are ready."

"Is that so? Tell me why you believe this to be true."

"They are already fast approaching a new age. With Ill Palazzo finally coming out of hiding as well as the many extra terrestrials whose attention has been attracted to Aselia… it is only a matter of time before Earth enters it's next space age."

"Hmm…" The brown haired man seemed to consider this.

"There is also the involvement of the Senshi to consider." This time, an auburn haired man from the side spoke up. A part of it fell down to cover almost half of his face, but otherwise was brushed back. His uniform was purple.

"Yes. The Eternal Sword was willing to show me a small part of Meiou's plans." The brown haired man regarded Pallas once again. "You said something of extra terrestrials. What has happened while we were away?"

"Much has happened within the last twelve thousand years," Pallas started. "Most recently being Jurai's prince escaping to Aselia,"

"Feh, Jurai," the brown haired man snorted. "They have deemed Aselia an insignificant colony, have they not?"

"Arguably to our benefit," Pallas shrugged. "However, that is of little importance. As I was saying, Jurai's prince came to Aselia to lay low after capturing and imprisoning Ryoko."

"She's imprisoned?" A woman bearing resemblance to Pallas spoke up. Her hair was cut much shorter and only fell to her neck. "I didn't think that was possible. And to think it would be on Aselia."

"I was surprised when rumors of her disappearance sprang up, but capture? That's new," said a man with elegantly flowing red hair. He was leaning back and had an amused look on his face.

"Thee's and Thou's in meetings, Zelos," the brown haired man frowned.

"Right, right, whatever, supreme ruler guy," Zelos snorted. "It's hard to take a guy named Lloyd seriously you know-" He was cut off by an elbow to the ribs. He turned to face the silver haired woman. "That hurt you know," He frowned. The brown-haired man was glaring at the auburn haired man from earlier.

"Hey, don't look at me. It was your mother's idea," he shrugged.

"Whatever," Lloyd snapped. "Pallas."

"Oh, yes." Pallas blinked and started again. "Anyway, a few years after Yosho imprisoned Ryoko, his descendant accidentally released her. Two Juraian princesses learned of their location through this and came to earth, but were stranded. Ever since then, we've had a steady stream of people coming in- the Galaxy Police, criminals, weirdoes and the sort," He waved it off. "There's also the matter of the Chaos Emeralds."

"Chaos Emeralds?" a few voices spoke up.

"You can look them up in the Derris-Kharlan Core System if you're really that interested," Lloyd commented rather casually.

"I will," the silver haired woman proclaimed, crossing her arms.

"Pallas, what else convinces you that they are ready for their next Era?"

"Yggdrasill," Pallas breathed. "That and Shitaru's appearance, as well as that of an unnamed Mazoku."

Silence reigned for at least an entire minute.

"…So at this point, it wouldn't matter if we interfered or not." Lloyd spoke up after a while.

"For the most part. It would be helpful though; the Senshi have potential and their intentions are good, if somewhat misguided. They don't have to abandon Crystal Tokyo; Shitaru is no doubt going to impart another ice age upon Aselia, but it would also be well enough for them to establish control over the other worlds, and move their people there so that their losses are not as great."

"However…I do not believe that is the only reason Shitaru has come back to Aselia," Pallas said quietly.

"…Oh?" Lloyd said, uncertainly. "What else could he possibly be here to do?"

"I believe he has found a successor."

---

Earth, Ryoga's house somewhere around 0500 hours

---

Ryoga sat down across from Ranma and handed her a tissue. They were both still in their sleeping clothes (Not that they could really be called pajamas…) Ranma in the tank top and shorts and he in much the same thing, although his was a T-shirt.

The girl had been crying since he got down there and by now her eyes were awfully red, and her cheeks sort of puffed out. She dabbed the remainder of moisture from her eyes and there was silence as the two waited for Ranma to collect herself. Ryoga himself was in a mild state of shock; he'd found the boy-turned-girl before him…crying, which in itself was a cause for extreme caution. After about a minute, Ranma finally spoke up.

"Ryoga," She started while looking at the table. "What…what _really_ happened a week ago?"

"Huh?" Ryoga asked, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"The party," She supplied. This only got more confused looks from the lost boy. "You know, the one you crashed…literally," she said lightly, in an attempt at humor.

"Oh…Th-that," Ryoga said. Ranma-chan looked up as much as she could without moving her head and saw that the boy was, as she'd expected, looking around nervously and apparently trying to think of something to say. "W-well…uh, there was that fight," He said.

"What…_happened_ during the time I was out?"

"Uh, well didn't Akane tell you what happened?" The lost boy seemed to be looking everywhere but directly at her.

"…Humor me,"

"Uhm, well…you see…The monster knocked you out, and…uh…" Ryoga inwardly cursed; he wasn't a habitual liar so he knew it was obvious he was stalling. 'Well, I suppose I can just tell a half-truth,' "…I used a perfected form of that Teisuu Shishi Hokudan, and that killed it," He said.

"So then, why was everyone looking so beat up if you killed it right away?" Ranma asked, more than a hint of suspicion in her voice.

"…It's not important. All that matters is that we killed it."

"I think it's important," Ranma said angrily. "Tell me what happened, Ryoga." Ryoga was pleading with whatever gods existed that for once something weird would happen when he needed it to. 'Akane begged me not to tell him what happened…I can't let her down!'

"It…it, uh," Ryoga was looking around frantically. "Well, there was more than one!" He almost yelled.

"There were two, right?"

"Yeah, and the second one was much stronger," Ryoga nodded. "He was a challenge, but we were able to beat him," the lost boy nodded again.

"What did it look like, Ryoga?"

"Oh, well that's simple. It was big and ugly," Ryoga snickered.

"Oh _really_," She growled. "Describe it for me. In detail."

"Uh, it was a demon. Not worth it to remember what it looked like."

"Did it look like the guy we fought last night?" Ranma asked dryly. "Because the way you reacted to that guy was pretty weird." Ryoga froze up and his eyes locked with hers. Her eyes served as a reminder that she had been wailing her heart out only minutes before. "You know what, Ryoga? He told me some stuff after he got rid of everyone else. He said that you were lying to me," There was a slight tone of aggression to her voice.

"R-Ranma, you know better than to trust that type, right? It was just a monster-"

"Tell me what happened."

"I already told you what happened!"

"**_DAMMIT!_**" She slammed her fists on the table, and Ryoga winced at the spider cracks that formed as a result. It was a good thing there was a cloth covering the table and he was glad Ranma still had enough control not to break his table in two. "Tell me what _really_ happened, not some sugar coated story to make me feel better!" She was yelling now, and Ryoga noticed that as an angry girl, she was several times more frightening than she'd ever been as a guy. He honestly hoped his sister and the doll-thing hadn't been awakened by that last outburst, but it was terribly unlikely at this point.

"…" Ryoga looked at her straight in the eyes. He turned away before crossing his arms and sighing. With his eyes shut, he started talking. "It's true that someone was able to beat the demon right away," He said. "The first one, anyway. You used a technique from one of my dreams that tore it up pretty gruesomely. After that, you turned on us and we all started fighting. Then a man whom you called 'hanyou' was demanding that you gave him something, some kind of jewel-"

"The Shikon no kakera," Ranma supplied. 'Technique from his dreams?' Ryoga nodded and continued.

"After that, you attacked each other and he was knocked away…"

"Then you attacked," Ranma said with a tone of finality. "And I nearly killed everyone there with my bare hands." When Ryoga looked at her, she was looking down at the table again, her hands not having left the spots where they had impacted the table. "He showed me everything, Ryoga…How I attacked Usagi, Chibi-Usa, Touya…I could even remember the feelings and thoughts I had during that time," She said. Ryoga noticed a single tear fall to the table and turned back to face her.

"…Uh, Ranma," He started in what he hoped sounded reassuring. "You don't need to cry about it," 'Besides, that's just freaking me out. Next you'll…' He inwardly shuddered. 'I don't even want to know what's next.'

"But Ryoga, how can I call my self a Martial Artist if I'm capable of losing control like that?"

"It was that jewel, you idiot!" Ranma snorted.

"That's an excuse, and besides, its influence hasn't left me," She growled.

"Look, whatever bull that guy fed you yesterday, just don't believe it! He seemed like the type to screw with your head," Ranma shook her head.

"You don't understand." She sighed again. "It's… I…"

"Listen to yourself! What are you saying?" Ryoga stood up, sending his chair back rather quickly. He held his arms out and clenched his fists in frustration. "This is not the Saotome Ranma that I know! The Ranma I know would be…would be…"

"_What,_ Ryoga? What would I be doing if I knew it was only a matter of time before… before I struck again?"

"Well you wouldn't be doing this!" He said angrily.

"Guess again, moron, 'cause here I am!"

"Dammit," Ryoga's face was red with anger and frustration, and he was near ready to leave the girl to herself. "Why are you even talking to me about this stuff?"

"'Cause you just _had_ to stay and watch me at my worst," She said bitterly.

"Only because I care about you!" The fanged boy said. Ranma looked up at him in surprise. "I mean," He stuttered. "Dammit, you're supposed to be my rival! I'm not going to…lose my sparring partner just because you want to cry around like a…like…"

"Like a weak little girl, right?" Ranma finished quietly, casting her gaze back to the table.

"I…That's not what I was going to say—"

"Of course not," She closed her eyes and Ryoga could feel a new wave of depression from her.

Ryoga was thoroughly confused, perplexed, and at a loss of what to do next. So of course, he resorted to his default tactic when dealing with Ranma. He growled and grabbed the girl by the arm rather forcefully before storming out of the house by its kitchen exit.

"H-hey, what are you doing?" Ranma's eyes were open wide as the lost boy dragged her outside and tossed her towards the fence she had smashed into the day before.

"Shut up and fight me, Ranma!" Ryoga roared as he leapt forward with a kick that she easily dodged.

"You stupid jerk!" She cried out as she threw a vertical punch that the lost boy blocked. She ducked under his round house and went for a sweeping kick that almost connected, but he managed to flip over it and continue his own assault.

-

Rie groaned and rubbed her eyes as she slowly became aware of the world. The light in her room was too dim to have woken her up, but her blank mind did not register this fact and she slid out of bed. The previous night, her brother and his friend had been out for an extended period of time and neither had told her where they'd gone, but she reasoned that the two were old enough and definitely strong enough to take care of themselves. The sounds of combat drifted up to her room and she blankly nodded; the pair was getting their morning sparring session in which meant she'd have to start the furo for them. 'Oh well, I need it too,' she sniffed her arm and sighed; she'd have to do their laundary too as this was the last set clean set of pajamas.

Ironic that most of her pajamas were covered with piglet prints, but now she knew why she felt she had to get them.

She closed her eyes and rubbed them again, before looking up at her mirror. Her hair fell slightly below her shoulders and was full of tangles at the moment and she sighed before picking up the brush on her nightstand to get rid of them. Unlike Ryoga's, her own room was somewhat bare. This was mainly because she could almost never be bothered to get a part time job and pay for some silly souvenirs or anything, and she always seemed to have just enough for the cheapest of meals.

When she was satisfied with her hair, she turned and hopped out of bed, walking over to her own travel pack. Most of her clothes were inside because she couldn't really trust herself to leave them at home. She pulled out some jean shorts and a pink t-shirt.

Nearby, the chest with Suiseiseki in it blew open and the doll was standing there, panting. This thoroughly confused Rie because she didn't know if the doll had lungs or not.

"Suiseiseki? Is something wrong?" The doll turned and looked at her with a blank look.

"Rie, do you remember last night at all -desu?" The doll asked seriously.

"Huh? Yeah, we stayed home while those two boys went out to spar, remember?"

"Y-yes, of course –desu." The doll stepped out of her box and began looking around. 'I need to find one of the others. That has…never happened before.' She looked up at Rie's mirror and nodded. "Rie, please tell Suiseiseki's master that he does not need to worry about her for now –desu, and that I hope he feels better soon –desu." She walked over to the mirror and it began glowing a bright blue color. Rie froze and watched as the doll walked into the mirror and the light faded away.

"…"

-

Ranma-chan grunted and pulled one of the straps to her tank top up to keep the thing from falling off as she fought. Beads of sweat dripped down her face as she smirked at her opponent.

"Time to get serious!" she yelled as she leapt at Ryoga again, fist cocked back to strike. Using a modified version of the Katchu Tenshin Amaguriken that she was able to make as a result of Touya's training, She slammed her fist into the Lost boy exactly eight hundred times in one strike. 'Touya said to look for a golden ring when using my chi to recycle it…'

"Heh, serious, eh? That's all right with me!" Ryouga snarled as he blasted away from the wall at her with his own great speed and she jumped to dodge. He'd left a crater(she sweat dropped upon realizing how much that would have hurt his unguarded feet if he wasn't so tough) and followed her up into the air.

'I forgot how fast he's gotten! Damn, I'm gonna have to get used to him being as fast as me!' She smirked in spite of it all; after all, the air was her element, and they had lots of air at that moment. "Mouko Takabisha!" She called out the attack of her name as she let a blast of chi fly towards him. She used her chi to suddenly change her direction in the air and flew at him behind the Chi blast. When the blast impacted Ryoga, he barely had enough time to realize that Ranma had grabbed him and hurled him at the ground in a blur.

He impacted it with a shockwave and the crater that formed as a result was at least two and a half meters wide at the surface level. When he stood up, he dusted himself off as if he'd merely tripped.

"Damn, what does it take to hurt you?!" She asked in confusion. Ryoga flinched as he flashed back to a time where all it took was one hit for him to bruise. She saw this and frowned. "Pay attention to the fight! Double Mouko Takabisha!" She yelled the name of her attack as she threw twin balls of chi at the other boy and the attack dissipated as he hit hers with his own. That was when she realized he was just standing there. "Eh? What's up?"

"Maybe we should take this someplace else," Ryoga said, motioning all around his yard. There were at least five nicely sized craters, his fence had been destroyed and the damage was starting to near his house. "I'm already going to need some new landscaping, I don't want to end up rebuilding the whole house," He explained.

"Oh," the girl scratched her head. "I guess so. Maybe we can get better dressed too." She made a show of keeping her tank top on. 'I almost fell out of the damn thing like three times!'

"And you can change back," He said, looking away with a red face.

"Nah, can't for the next few days," she said, walking past him in the house with her arms behind her head.

"Huh?"

"Don't wanna talk 'bout it," she growled as she walked into the house. Ryoga just shrugged and followed.

---

Unnamed Condo, 0913 hours

---

"Man," Kotarou groaned as he climbed out of his bed. "What a way to spend the first night here…"

"Tell me about it," Asuna moaned. "I'm still tired…"

"Then go back to sleep," He said.

"Can't. The sun's too bright."

Indeed, the room where their two bunk beds were had a rather large window, and the curtains were fairly see through.

"It's damn bright in here…" Kotarou groaned. He stood up and rubbed his eyes, turning to the door that led to their new living room. "Hey Negi!" Kotarou called out. "What's up? Why are you watching TV?" He walked over to join the boy who was sitting on the ground and watching the in-room TV.

"They're doing a news story on the Senshi…" He said.

"Huh?"

"The Sailor Senshi," Asuna yawned as she walked out of the bedroom. 'I do need to get my own room. Sleeping in the same room as two little boys is going to get very old very fast.' She glanced at the television and slowed down on her way to their kitchen.

There were a different group of people on the TV along with the Sailor Senshi, and they were all fighting another boy. According to the reporters that were going over the footage, the boy was cursed as well as possessed. He was obviously winning against the Senshi and their new associates were.

"Hey, those guys are new." She said as she walked over to join the two. "What's going on so far?"

"Apparently, an anonymous source donated this tape to several news stations and all of them are running the same story," Negi said. "I can't believe the home country just lets magi run rampant here…"

"They would be fools to get involved with that boy," said a new voice. All three glanced back at Satoshi.

"How did you get in here?"

"That's a secret. Now, as for that kid," He said, pointing at the screen, where a pig-tailed boy was seen battling other martial artists, "He's been cursed by Jusenkyo. No sane magi would be caught near the place or it's victims, really," He shrugged.

"Oh…" Negi said, turning back to the TV. "Why is it such big news that these guys are working with the Senshi anyway?"

"The Sailor Senshi were super heroines. Their return as well as the appearance of new allies is bound to be big news. Tokyo is probably gearing up for the next series of monster attacks or something," Kotarou shrugged.

"Hmm. Well, Asuna, could you come with me right quickly? I have something I would like to discuss with you…in private." He said.

"Eh? With me? Why?" the girl asked nervously.

"It is in regards to the…deformity that has afflicted you," Asuna flinched; why did he always have to smile so pleasantly?

"Well…all right," She said. "Where did you want to go?"

"Just follow me," The two left Kotarou and Negi alone and Negi looked over at his…rival.

"…I don't trust that guy," Kotarou said suddenly. "Something about him seems off."

"Well…he works for Mahora…I can't say Konoe would hire an untrustworthy person…"

"Well, are we going to start our investigation without her?"

"Yes, I'm sure she won't mind." Negi sighed.

-

As soon as they were outside the room, Satoshi turned to face Asuna.

"Hold on tight, we're going to be moving through the astral plane," He smiled.

"Astral…plane?"

"Ask Negi about it later, he'll tell you all about it," The man said cheerfully.

---

Tendo Dojo

---

Soun Tendo was an irate man. His dojo was being invaded by paparazzi in an attempt to find a Ranma that was not there and he had no idea how much longer the barricade he would hold. He had been extremely confused when the newsgroups started knocking on his door early in the morning asking for his prospective son-in-law. When he told them the boy was unavailable, they readily accepted this, informing him that they could wait. When they started setting up camp in the yard, however, he became worried. More groups of people had begun to show up over a period of time, and now his entire yard was filled with tents, cameras, stage lights and all manner of reporters.

Now, he'd come to accept that Ranma's curse could attract some unwanted attention quite a while ago, and although this was a bit extreme he'd lived through far worse since the boy's arrival.

The last straw was when his youngest daughter ran down to him, with a mixed look of fear and anger in her eyes.

"Daddy, another one tried to climb in through my window!"

'This is getting ridiculous,' Soun growled as he, Genma, and his daughter proceeded to barricade the doors and windows to his Dojo. Whoever had exposed the boy's secret was causing them a lot of grief. Genma and Akane agreed to brainstorm who could have done such a thing and they had sat down in the dojo to do so while Kasumi cooked breakfast. Cologne was unlikely because it could attract unwanted attention to her status as a possible illegal immigrant and the amazons as a whole. The master really didn't care for such things, The Kuno siblings didn't even realize that Ranma _had_ a curse, Ryoga would never have found any of the offices that these people were coming from…It was all very quickly narrowed down to one person.

"Nabiki!" He yelled out the name of his middle daughter and she was in the Dojo minutes later.

"What?" The girl asked simply, holding a laptop up with one arm. "I was kind of busy."

"I was hoping you could explain all of that nonsense out there for us." Tendo motioned towards the windows and doors of the Dojo.

"Oh, that. Well, I was approached a while back by a client who requested that I publicize the details regarding Ranma and the Nerima Wrecking Crew, as well as any other Super Natural occurrences in the area." She started.

"Who was that client?" Akane asked.

"I'd say it's confidential, but there's no point in keeping it from you since you don't know her." She approached the group and sat down. "A little while ago, she released footage of a martial arts tournament in at Mahora Academy's yearly Festival, see," She started. "She's been going around the net to specific people requesting _real_ evidence of Magic. She found my personal website, became interested and contacted me, we set up a simple contract, and that was it," She said. She set down her laptop and turned it to face the group. A picture of a Chinese girl dressed in elegant robes appeared.

"Her name is Chao Lingshen, but that was all she ever really told me, about herself." Nabiki shrugged. "She's probably from some obscure Chinese nation like that Herb guy or the Amazons…"

"So you just sold out as much information as you could about Ranma? How could you do that, Nabiki?" Akane asked, indignantly. Nabiki looked around at her family hesitantly and shook her head a few times before speaking.

"…When we discussed final payment, it came down to five hundred million yen."

Everyone present turned pale in the face.

---

The Kuno mansion

---

Tatewaki Kuno's mind was a mess. That is to say, a far worse mess than usual.

The dreams…no, memories of his past life had not ceased with his transformation, as much as he believed, or hoped rather, they would. Currently, he was sitting in his room, which happened to be his personal shrine to the pig-tailed girl and Akane Tendo. He grabbed the newspaper that was always brought in by his servants so as to scan it for any noteworthy articles as he did every morning.

His eyes slightly widened at what he saw.

"Hmm…"

---

Ryoga's house

---

Ranma and Ryoga sat at the table in the kitchen quietly, waiting for Rie to finish cooking. Though both teens could do it, Rie had already started and insisted that they let her finish. So the teens took turns in the furo, Ranma first, Ryoga second.

As Rie added the finishing touches, Ryoga walked into the room and sat across from Ranma as he had earlier. Both were trying hard not to think about what had happened that morning.

"Hey, Where's Suiseiseki?" Ranma finally asked the girl when she noticed the doll's absence.

"She told me to tell you that you didn't need to worry about her for a little while," Rie said as she turned off the burners and walked over to the table with a tray. Ryoga blanched when he noticed the bacon and realized he'd forgotten to tell his sister that he could never eat the stuff after having walked many a mile in a pig's shoes.

Rie turned to face Ranma with a confused expression on her face. "Oh yeah, she also said to tell you to cheer up or something." She blinked when the other girl looked around nervously and sat down to join them. After a few minutes, she noticed that Ranma wasn't eating.

"Is something wrong, Ranma?" the younger girl asked.

"Ah, no, it's nothing," She answered, finally getting some food for herself.

"What happened last night, anyway?" She asked, furrowing her brow. "Suiseiseki did ask me an odd question."

Ranma's face went pale and she shut her eyes.

"It's nothing to talk about," Ryoga said abruptly, giving his sister a certain look. Rie noticed Ranma and nodded.

"Well, what are you guys going to do today?"

"We're going to find a place where we can properly spar," Ryoga said, going back to his food. Rie took notice of the absence of bacon on his plate and wondered why she didn't figure out something like that before hand before shrugging and getting some more for herself.

"Can I go? When are you guys going to teach me that kind of stuff?" She asked.

"Well…" Ryoga looked at Ranma and the girl shrugged. "I suppose I could start training you when we're done sparring…" He suggested.

"Can I help?" Ranma asked eagerly.

"If you promise not to corrupt her," Ryoga said with a level stare.

"Of course, of course." Ranma answered without even hearing what he'd said.

"I don't see why not," Ryoga shrugged. Rie smiled at that. Ranma looked at her, feeling weirded out by the fact that the ten year old girl had teeth that looked more…dangerous than hers.

-

Ranma and Ryoga walked out of the house, intent on finding a better place to spar. Rie was following them and they all walked along the street silently for a time, before Ranma noticed something out of the ordinary.

"Ryoga, do people usually stare and point at you when you leave your home?" She asked, looking around nervously.

"Usually, yeah. I mean, people never see us home," Ryoga said honestly and Rie nodded in agreement.

"Oh," Ranma said. She seemed to calm down for a few moments as they continued walking, but was soon annoyed with the looks people were giving them. "I really don't think they're looking at us because of that, guys," She said. The three stopped and looked around. "You'd think we were celebrities or something." She said in annoyance.

Suddenly, a boy separated from his mother and ran over to them from across the street when there were no cars.

"Are you really that guy? Are you really Ranma Saotome?" the boy asked.

"Uh, yeah," Ranma-chan said without blinking. 'Wait. Guy?' A look of alarm appeared on her face.

"Wow! You're so cool!"

"Wait a minute…Where did you hear that, kid?"

"It was on the news this morning! Bye-bye!" the boy ran off back to his mom and started jumping up and down while talking to her. People nearby the two looked at Ranma and Ryoga with wide eyes.

"Maybe we should get going-" Ranma was interrupted by the ringing of a nearby payphone. Finding the scene somewhat familiar decided to go ahead and answer it. "Moshi Moshi,"

"Ranma." Nabiki's voice sounded.

"Nabiki."

"Go to Kuno's house. _Now._"

"What? Why?" Ranma asked indignantly.

"Just do it, Saotome. I was able to find you first, but let's just say… I'm not the only one using city cameras to look for you toda…Saotome, start running. _Now._"

"What? What's the deal?"

"There they are!" Cried out unfamiliar voices. Ranma turned to see a crowd of people opposite of them running towards them. "It's Ranma and Ryoga!"

'Just another day in Furinkan, Nerima,' Ranma growled as she let the phone drop, sprinting away. Ryoga and Rie took that as their cue to follow.

"Hey! You don't need to carry me!" Rie screamed as her brother grabbed her and ran, carrying her under his shoulder. "This is uncomfortable!" Ryoga switched her to the newlywed style.

"Ranma, where are we going?" Ryoga ignored his sister and ran after Ranma.

"Kuno's. Don't ask why; I've got _no_ idea."

"Oh," Ryoga said. "Does it have to do with all of those people who are chasing us?"

"Ryoga, Ryoga…It _always_ has to do with the angry mob that's chasing me…err, us." Ranma said. "That was Nabiki."

"How did she know where we were?" Ryoga asked in confusion, his little sister mirroring his expression.

"She said something about city cameras." Ranma responded as she leapt high into the air. Ryoga followed him and they both landed on the roof of a house they'd passed earlier upon leaving Ryoga's and began their trek to Kuno's mansion.

"Sugoi! They really can fly!" one of the people who'd been following them cried out in amazement.

'That's not something you hear in Nerima everyday,' Ranma narrowed her eyes and looked down. "What the hell is going on today, anyway?" she grumbled.

---

"Here we are," Satoshi said with a cheerful smile. Asuna opened her eyes and gawked at her surroundings.

"We're…at Mahora Academy?"

"Indeed," Satoshi pointed held his staff up in the direction before them. "Look familiar, my little sylvan princess?" He asked brightly. Asuna's eyes fell forward and she gasped.

"Yggdrasill," She breathed. She unconsciously started walking towards it.

"Correct!" Satoshi said as he followed closely behind. "This is the Great Tree of Kharlan that provides mana to the planet and all of those living on it, as well as a physical connection to that which is known as the Life Stream, of which on this world exists only one other," the man smiled.

'Life stream…Wait!' Asuna turned to look at Satoshi with wide eyes. "You mean all that garbage about the Life Stream is real?"

"Garbage? Negi hasn't told you anything other than the utmost truth," Satoshi smiled. "Someone is waiting for us. Come," He said, leading the way. She blinked and she followed him.

"One of? What's the other connection?" Asuna asked after a while. They were almost to the base of the giant tree, and she began looking around for the person that would be waiting for them.

"That will remain a secret for the time being." He said and he nodded towards the tree. He put a hand on it and looked towards her. "Here…can you feel the flow of Mana?"

"Huh?" She asked.

"Put your hand on the tree," He said. She did so and her eyes opened slightly. "So you can feel it. Then it's not a fluke," He said, opening his own eyes. She blinked as she realized that was the first time she'd ever seen his eyes.

They were red.

"Here," He said, releasing the tree. Asuna followed his example and she looked at him.

"What's not a fluke, though?"

"Your heritage," He smiled. "Asuna, you are a pure blooded elf. I'm not sure how you got down from Exire, but you did, and now, thanks to this tree, your true heritage has been exposed."

"Elf." She gave him a half lidded stare.

"Sylvan if you prefer," He said, shrugging. "Anyway, follow me." He said and he jumped up to the lowest branch of the tree. Asuna looked up in horror; it had to have been at least two five stories up, and there were no foot holds for her to grab on to at all, and the fact that he had merely jumped up there was astonishing in itself.

"How am I supposed to get up there?!" She yelled up at him.

"You'll manage," He shouted and he stood there patiently, waiting. "You don't want to keep our friend waiting, do you?"

'What? Who's waiting for us?' "Man…how did I get roped into this again?"

"Come on now, time is of the essence," He chirped.

---

"Is that Ranma?" Chibi-usa's voice called out as she pointed at one Ranma Saotome, who was currently barreling down the street with another boy following her with something in his arms. Usagi blinked and looked at the girl; it was indeed her as there was no mistaking the coloration of the Chinese silk clothes and hair. "Oi! Ranma!" Chibi-Usa waved at Ranma and the girl was distracted for a moment. She changed her direction a bit and ran over to them, with Ryoga following, although when they stopped, they were running in place.

"Chibi-Usa, Usagi," Ranma-chan nodded. 'They _look_ fine,' "What's up?"

"Ranma, how do you know these girls?" Ryoga asked angrily.

"Hey, set me down already!" Rie yelled out. "There's no purpose when we've stopped!" Ryoga set the girl down and shrugged.

"Anyway, to answer your question, Ryoga, they're friends of mine," Ranma snapped at her partner. "No Fiancées or anythin'."

"Oh? Okay," Ryoga said with relief.

"Wow! You're Ryoga?" Chibi-Usa said. 'I've only seen him once before, and he didn't know that was me,' she remembered. "Wow, Ranma's told us all about you!"

"Oh?" Ryoga asked. 'Why do I feel like I've seen her before?' "That's uh…that's wonderful, I guess. What has h…she told you?"

"They know," Ranma said, easing some of Ryoga's tension.

"Oh," Ryoga blinked.

"He said you were the strongest constant rival he's ever had," Chibi-Usa shrugged. "So we've been wanting to meet you for a little while, that's all."

"I see," Ryoga nodded. "Well, I suppose it's nice to meet you, uh…"

"I'm Usagi, and this is Usagi," Chibi-Usa bowed, motioning her 'relative'.

"…Ok." Ryoga said nervously scratching his head as he returned the gesture.

"Well what are you guys running from?" the older Usagi asked. "Is it the Fiance brigade?"

"Er, no," Ranma said. "Though I wish that's all it was."

"Huh?" Usagi asked. "Then what could it be?"

"I dunno, Nabiki said she'd tell us when we got to Kuno's mansion." She looked over her shoulder. "Look, it was nice seeing you, but we've gotta go,"

"Okay," Usagi nodded with understanding.

"Well, See ya later," Ranma nodded and took off again. Ryoga picked up his sister again and took off, much to her annoyance.

"Hey! I can run on my own!" Usagi watched as the two disappeared down the road. There was a rumbling noise and the two girls turned to the side where Ryoga and Ranma had come, and a few cars and two news vans sped down the road. In the direction the two had taken off. Following them was a huge group of people running on the sidewalk.

The two stood there in silence as the crowd washed over them.

---

Higurashi shrine, 1228 hours

---

Kagome was in her room, with Inuyasha, and the two were watching her television; Kagome in horror, and Inuyasha in confusion.

"Why is your house in there now?" He asked. "And why are there pictures of us from that fight a while ago where that kid was hit by a jewel shard?"

"Someone videotaped us," She said. "And thanks to that, someone was able to pick out who I was from the video." The helicopter passed overhead again and Kagome looked out of her window at it as it started turning a in circle. "They're already staked out at Akane's place," She muttered. The dojo had been on several different channels.

So far, the only people who _hadn't_ been identified from any of the videos was her cousin, and she suspected his family fortune had something to do with that, as well as the two Sailor Senshi and their Tuxedoed companion, all of which had obvious magic to hide them. 'That's it. That's the safest place for us to go since the well is messed up,'

"I'm going to be right back," Kagome said as she left her room. Inuyasha merely sat there, feeling awkward, waiting for Kagome to return. When she did, she grabbed her pack, which was usually full of a change of clothes and some dried food.

"Inuyasha, let's go," She commanded, walking over to the window. 'When the helicopter goes over again and we can't be seen by it,'

"Go? Where are we going? Have you figured out a way to fix the well?" He asked.

"No, but I'm going to save us a lot of trouble,"

"Hmph," the hanyou snorted. "You still haven't answered the question," he said.

"That place we were a week ago. I'll tell you where to go from there." She jumped on his back and put her arms around his neck, and he blinked.

"What am I, your steed?"

"Yes, now go!" She cried dramatically. Inuyasha grumbled something about ingrates and opened her window, then put an arm around each leg so she wouldn't fall off. "Go when that thing in the sky passes over again so it can't see us." Inuyasha nodded and waited for such a moment.

"Hang on!" He shouted as he leapt out of the open window. When Kagome looked back, she saw the tail end of the Helicopter, meaning that there was no possible way for them to be seen. Or so she hoped.

---

"Oh my, you are taking a while with this," Satoshi mock yawned. The highest Asuna had climbed up was nearly halfway to his branch, but she slipped and fell. That had been from a running start and a rather impressive (for someone with little training) jump.

"Dammit, why the hell am I even doing this?"

"Hm," Satoshi nodded. "Fine, I shall help you, if just this once. Levitation!" Asuna's eyes bugged as she felt a force lift her from the ground and she was soon on the same branch as he. "Now then, shall we?"

"What…" Asuna's face was suddenly red with anger. "WHAT THE HELL!? WHY THE HELL DID YOU HAVE ME DOING THAT IF YOU COULD DO THAT THE WHOLE TIME?!

"It's a-"

"If you say SECRET I will knock your head off—"

"Joke!" He said with a sweat drop. "Yes, come along now, child." He jumped from the lowest branch to the next one up and she clumsily followed. After a while of this, they were up in the mid sections of the tree, and from all of the foliage, Asuna couldn't see the ground or the sky around them. The light came from the dim glow of the Tree itself.

"Sugoi," she managed . "It's like a huge room of tree branches!"

"It's bigger than most buildings," Satoshi agreed. "This is where you'll be training with our friend and I."

"Wait. Your friend? Training?" She raised an eyebrow. "Just what have you brought me for?"

"Your potential is great, even greater than that of your young friend," came a new voice. The voice came from all around them, but Asuna had a feeling it wasn't the tree.

"Huh?" She looked around in confusion.

"I'm right here," Said the voice, this time, from just in front of them, and a man materialized before her, but he was blanketed in shadow. He took a step forward into the light that she could see and smirked.

Before them stood a man with long black hair arranged in a pigtail that fell down to his waist, his eyes were sapphire and there were two scar-like marks on the side of his face, one per cheek. His clothes were all black, made of a material Asuna was sure she'd never seen before; there were no seams or anything that gave it away as having been sown together at all. They seemed to be made just for him they were a little baggy, but the cuffs looked to be made with something akin to elastic and it clung to his wrists, ankles and neck.

"Dai," Satoshi started pleasantly. "So good to see you again."

"Indeed," 'Dai' said. "So this is the elf you were talking about earlier."

"What's going on here?" she asked, clueless.

"This is Dai," Satoshi said. "And I've already told you what's going on here."

"Yeah, what's this about training?" She asked suspiciously.

"Kagurazaka Asuna," The pig-tailed man started. His posture was stiff and his entire body had a serious air to it. "There will come a time when people depend on you for protection, no matter how hard you wish to deny it. Your power at that time may determine the fate of the entire solar system. I am not going to let you enter such a situation unprepared."

"W-what are you talking about?" the man ignored her and continued.

"At the same time, I am not going to simply bestow upon you the power required to do what you must. It is a power you will earn, as you did before, so many years ago." Asuna felt a strange, sudden urge to prostrate herself infront of the man called Dai.

"Who…who are you?"

"I am the prince of a kingdom long dead on the verge of resurrection," He closed his eyes. "And now, I have learned that we have a limited amount of time to do so, as the Great Freeze is nearing." He opened them back. "Three of the Astral order have been called back, and it is only a matter of time before the others…as well as my true self awaken. You will be the fourth." He pointed at her head and an odd symbol appeared on her forehead for the briefest of moments.

"There," Dai said, interrupting the dramatic air. "Now that that is done, you can begin your training,"

Asuna merely blinked. "What the hell was all of that about anyway??"

"All will come in time," Dai said with a smirk. "As for now, I'm going to make you stronger,"

"What?" Asuna was very confused. 'Nothing they're saying is making any sense!' "Didn't you say I had to earn my strength?"

"Yes, which is exactly what you're going to do. For the rest of the day, you're going to practice dodging in an enclosed space with bad foot holds," He mentioned the area around them. It was full of tree branches, and none of them save for the one they were on were wide enough to be stood on comfortably. "The point of this exercise is to drill it into your mind to take in your surroundings so that landing on something like a narrow tree branch like these comes second nature in a fight."

"Dodging? W-what? What am I dodging?" Dai chuckled and held up his hand. The symbol of the moon appeared on his forehead and a large purple sword materialized in his raised hand. "W-what the hell?"

"You'll be dodging me," He sneered and the whites of his eyes turned red, with blue irises. "Try to keep alive, dear." He lunged at her and she instinctively jumped to the side, but she slipped on the next tree branch and found herself falling down. She screamed and tried to grasp one of the branches, finally getting a hold of one after a while of scrambling. She hurriedly pulled herself up and looked around with wide, fearful eyes. She found herself shrieking and jumping at the same time, this time going a bit higher up than she'd thought she could and she ended up pulling herself up to the branch just in time to pull her legs up as the crazed Dai passed through the air. As she hung upside down, she wondered what the odd feeling she felt from all directions was, when suddenly, her danger senses flared from above.

"YEEEK!" She cried as she let go of the branch and fell down to another just as he stabbed down where she'd been. If she had stayed there, his sword would have pierced through her belly as it had the branch between the two of them. 'He's fast! How'd he get that fast?!'

-

Meanwhile, somewhere above them…

-

"Yare yare," Satoshi sighed. "His bloodlust permeates this entire tree. I wonder how long it is before someone notices?"

"Not very long at all," Came a familiar voice to his side. Satoshi turned, and his face lit with momentary surprise at the short blonde girl standing beside him. She was draped in her usual all-consuming black.

"Oh! Evangeline-san!" He said cheerfully. "What can I do for you?"

"You could kill yourself," She snarled.

"That's not very nice, Evangeline-san," He said, sounding wholly and totally as if he was berating a child.

"'Nice' should not be in your vocabulary." The ancient vampire before him was growling, her hands up and glowing with a spell.

"Ah yes," He said, opening his eyes to slits. "With Yggdrasill revived, your powers were able to grow to the point where the curse no longer affects you, hmm?" He turned to regard her then. "What is it you wish of me then, oh dark and terrible 'Dark Evangel'?"

"What are you planning to do? Better yet, who is that down there messing with the brat's girlfriend?"

"That is a secret," He said, gaining a cheerful expression and holding up a finger.

"Hmph," She narrowed her eyes at him and frowned at what was happening below. "Do as you will," she narrowed her eyes at him vanished.

"My my, I hope she doesn't decide to give us any trouble," He turned his gaze back to what was happening below, where the Kagurazaka girl was doing her best to dodge the insane (and insanely fast) Dai.

---

Kuno Mansion, approximately 1335 hours

---

Ranma and Ryoga warily walked into the Kuno Mansion. Ryoga set down his luggage as soon as they got in and were now looking around in confusion.

"Where is everyone?" Ryoga asked. "I can sense them but barely-"

The ground below them opened downwards and the four fell down into the hole. Just as suddenly, the door shut itself.

-

Secret area – Kuno compound

-

"They should be here any moment," Tatewaki said to his guests. Among them were all of the Tendos and one Saotome. "It should be noted that the route they took is not the most comfortable nor the safest," He admitted.

"I had no idea you had this kind of stuff under your house," Akane muttered as she looked at all of the surveillance monitors in the room they were in. The room wasn't too luxurious; it was large but the only light came from the wall of monitors and the room was not furnished for a high level of comfort. Suddenly, two familiar voices as well as two unfamiliar voices sounded in the distance, growing quickly louder as it got closer.

Suddenly, Ranma, Ryoga, and Rie all fell from a square shaped hole in the ceiling and landed on each other, with Ranma on the bottom, Rie on the top, and Ryoga under her.

"My back!"

"Ow…what the hell…"

"What happened?" Ryoga groaned from under his sister.

"I don't know man, but get the hell off of my back!"

"Ranma!" cried out several voices at once. Ranma-chan looked up from the ground and gave a silly smile.

"Hey guys!" She said. "What's up?"

"Don't you 'What's up' me! What was that running away nonsense you pulled off?!"

"Oh, uh, that," Ranma blinked, looking around. "Well it didn't last very long, did it?" She asked.

"We'll have enough time for chatter later," Nabiki interrupted. "For now, the reason we're here, Saotome,"

"Oh yeah. What was all that crap outside?" Ranma asked as Ryoga and Rie finally got off of her. She sat up and rubbed her back with, wincing in pain. "Why did you tell me to come _here_ of all places?" She asked with a disgusted glance at Kuno.

"The reason for that is simple. The world knows about your curse," Nabiki shrugged.

"What? How?!" She asked, eyes wide with fear.

"They some how managed to get their hands on heaping mountains of evidence," Nabiki shrugged again. "It's a mystery."

"That's not good. We've got to warn everyone with a curse to stay inside then, right?"

"Not quite. They came to the Dojo looking for you this morning," Akane said. "Daddy, Uncle Saotome and I boarded up the windows to keep them from coming in to flush you out, when Nabiki came up with the plan to get us to Kuno's place."

"Okay, but why Kuno, and how did you get out the boarded up house?"

"They let us out because we're not cursed, and Saotome-Ojisan sneaked out when we did, using the Umi Sen-ken," Kasumi explained. Several nods followed.

"As for the reason you have come to my humble-estate, pig-tailed girl, I have been invited to a prestigious award ceremony in Fukuoka by my dear cousin Shinshige. I have accepted, and it would be most convenient for you to temporarily re-locate so that the disgusting dogs of the media lose interest in the story."

"Yeah, okay," Ranma sighed. "I guess that makes sense. But how the hell are we getting to Fukuoka?"

"My father has a private jet for such occasions," Kuno nodded. Ranma and Ryoga's jaws hung open. "We will be departing within the hour if that is acceptable."

"Puh-puh-PRIVATE JET?!" Ranma-chan shouted. "What the hell does your family do!?"

"That is not for me to say," Kuno said dramatically.

"The Kuno family owns several shares of successful companies throughout Japan. Although they were nobles in previous a time, they have been able to maintain wealth and public standing through modern success," Nabiki shrugged. "I looked it up."

"Okay, yeah," Ranma nodded. She knew a little about nobles and such; her mom had once told her that they were descended from Samurai as well. "Wait, what about mom?"

"Your mother is done with her business trip and agreed to meet with us in Fukuoka," Genma explained. "She said she's had a feeling this day would come since she learned about your curse."

"Oh," Ranma nodded. "Well shouldn't we leave right away?"

"None of us are prepared for a week-long trek in Fukuoka," Kuno said. "You will have time to prepare yourselves and we will be leaving at sundown,"

"Well that's easy- I'm already packed and Ryoga's family is always packed," she said. "Ryoga and I can get them and come b-" There was a distant noise above them and a new scream sounded from above. They watched as a red blur fell from above and landed infront of them.

"What…the…hell…" the red thing muttered. Everyone got a good look at him and blinked at the girl that was straddling his back.

"Kagome?" Kuno spoke up. "To what honor do I owe this visit, dear cousin?" He asked.

"Tachi?" She asked, looking at him. "Why didn't you tell me there was a trap like that in your house last time we met?! And who are all of these people?" She asked him as she hopped off of Inuyasha's back.

"The thought skipped my mind," He blinked. "What are you doing here?"

"Cousin?" Akane asked, confused. Kagome looked at her and blinked as well.

"Akane? What are you doing here?" the younger girl asked.

"It's a weird story," Akane said. "What are you doing here? You're related to Kuno?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah, cousins. As for why we're here, a bunch of weird people started coming up to my house, and finally they got a helicopter to start circling overhead. I figured this place was safe because no one on TV had mentioned Tachi's name yet," She explained.

"You're just in time," Kuno said. "We're going to Fukuoka to escape this nonsense,"

"Ah, really?" she asked. "Why Fukuoka?"

"Shinshige offered to put us up."

"That's a good idea, I guess," She said. "I told mom I would go to the sengok…err, stay with you, so it's all right for me to go."

With that, the twelve prepared to leave Nerima and it's insanity behind, even if only temporarily.

---

Yggdrasill, 1728 hours

---

"Hmm, you are improving," Dai said calmly as Asuna stood, clothes torn and with a multitude of scrapes and cuts on her body, but all in all still together. She was panting opposite of him, watching him and simultaneously frantically looking around for a suitable spot to land on should he attack again.

"Can we call it a day already?" She asked, her voice coming out in ragged breaths. 'I feel so numb…'

"Hmm, I suppose I can go easy on you today," He said. "Xellis!" He yelled out. Satoshi appeared, standing in between the two. "You can take her back now," He inclined his head over at Asuna and Satoshi turned to face the girl.

"She looks a little tired," Satoshi agreed. He walked over to the girl and the two vanished, leaving Dai standing in the mass of branches.

Dai looked up and leapt upwards using the branches for extra lift every time he felt himself slowing down. Soon, he was standing at the highest part of the World Tree and looking at the Moon.

"So I have found Yggdrasill…" He stared at the celestial body, reveling in it's beauty even though it was pot-marked with craters. "Soon…"

-

Negi gawked as Asuna stumbled into their room.

"I knew it! What did that sneaky bastard do to you?" Kotarou yelled out as he stomped over to her.

"Some…weird training…" She said.

"Training?" Kotarou asked. He sniffed the air and frowned. "You smell like that weird tree at Mahora! Did he really take you that far?"

"The world tree?" Negi asked quietly, finally speaking.

"Yes, that's the one," Kotarou nodded.

"It's okay…they weren't really…trying to kill me…" Asuna grumbled. 'At least I don't think so…' Kotarou looked her up and down and snorted.

"Well, if the Ane-san says they weren't trying to kill her, then I guess they weren't trying to kill her," He shrugged, walking away.

"Hah…So Negi…what were you and that punk doing all day?"

"We were out looking for the source of that odd power. For some reason, there's been an outbreak of magic here and we had to be very stealthy about it,"

"I thought that old man Konoe said it didn't matter if you used magic in public any more?" She asked, confused.

"It's still uncomfortable," Negi fidgeted. "You must be feeling awful," He said. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yeah. Can you drag me to my bed?" She asked.

"Ah…uh…Okay."

---

Kuno Private Jet

---

Ranma-chan looked out of a large window of the plane in awe at the lights of Tokyo below them as they left. The window had been put there for just such a thing. "Sugoi na…"

"It always looks best at night, Pig-tailed girl," Kuno said casually as he stood over her shoulder, watching it with her. "Truly, such an enchanting sight should only be beheld by those as wondrous as yourself," Ranma-chan sweatdropped at his attempt at flirting, but refrained from sending his head through the a majestic window..

"Ah, yeah…uh, thanks, Kuno," She said nervously. "Hey, you know, I suddenly have to use the restroom," She said. He nodded and stood up.

"It is to the left of the back," He said, walking forward through the aisle towards a door. She sighed in relief and got up as if making to really use it, when she realized she _did_ need to use it.

"Dammit, I prefer to be a guy when I do this," she grumbled.

Far further up in the plane, Nabiki was relaxing with her laptop on the side of a pull-out tray. She had to admire the interior of the jet; the room they were in was more like that of a hotel room. It had a large flat panel television and the sound was surround with speakers built into the walls and there were two couches that most of them were on as well as a loveseat and a few solitary chairs. There were three bedrooms as well as a fully equipped kitchen.

"This is really first class here, Kuno-kun," she drawled as she took a sip from orange juice in a wine glass. 'If things hold true, we'll be living like this too,' she smirked.

"Indeed," the boy only nodded as he stared straight ahead, seemingly focused on something else entirely. Nabiki shrugged and looked over to his sister who was sitting across from her.

"So aren't you going to go do something about the pig-tailed harlot or something?" Nabiki asked the girl.

"Although it does not set well with me that she is here, there is not much I can do to change that. She best watch herself when we have landed, however," The girl snorted.

"Ah." Nabiki nodded. She looked around and spotted her father and uncle playing Shogi to pass the time. She looked over her shoulder and saw Kasumi reading a book and Akane walking away from the group. She went the way Kuno had just come and absently wondered if his presence was really that much of a bother to her.

Further down the plane Ryoga and Rie were watching the cityscape below them in awe. Ranma exited the bathroom, wiping her hands dry on her pants as she approached them.

"Ryoga, we need to talk," She said. Ryoga looked up at Ranma and blinked.

"There's nothing left to talk about, Ranma," Ryoga said, unmoving.

"Yes there is," Ranma said, gritting her teeth.

"Fine," Ryoga said angrily. "I'm listening,"

"We need to talk alone." Ranma said firmly. Rie stood up and looked at her.

"What is so important that I can't hear it?"

"It's grown-up stuff," Ryoga said seriously as he frowned, turning back to the view below them.

"You're not grownups. You can't tell me what to do!"

"We can so," Ranma-chan sneered. "Now get lost, squirt."

"Hey!" Rie said indignantly.

"Oh yeah. Uh, beat it, kid."

"Humph, whatever." Rie said. "I'll go see what's up with those other people." She walked out of the room and left them alone.

"What is it you wanted to talk about, Ranma? We already said what was to be said."

"I wanted to…" Ranma looked out of the window and winced as she said the next words. "I wanted to apologize for the way I behaved this morning. It wasn't right for me to do that when you were just trying to help me."

"Yeah, whatever," Ryoga grunted. "Is that it?"

"Is that it? Whaddya mean is that it?" She asked angrily.

"Careful Ranma, you're starting to sound like at woman," Ryoga said with mock-fear in his voice.

"You little punk!" She hit him in the shoulder.

"You hit like a girl too," the boy snorted. "Fine, fine. I accept your apology," he said, waving it aside. "But you know, that really was rude, considering I was putting you up with no rent or anything," Ranma snorted.

"You can't ask for rent from a sleepover," she sat down and joined him as they watched the ground. "Man, Tokyo's pretty big, huh?"

"With all of those wards and stuff? Of course," the boy snorted. "It's one of the biggest cities in the world."

"You would know, you've been all over the place,"

"Heh," Ryoga shrugged. A knock on the door alerted them and they looked over to see Akane smiling with the door open.

"Hope I'm not interrupting,"

"Err," Ranma-chan said, scooting away from Ryoga. "Nuthin, ain't nuthin." She looked away.

"I didn't know you two were such close friends," the girl said as she walked into the room to join them. "I told you he was nice, and knew that you'd be friends if ever you stopped picking on him," She said, looking at the red headed girl.

"Don't get us wrong," Ranma said. "We're still rivals. Rivals can have a friendly conversation every once in a while, huh?" She elbowed the boy.

"Uh, right," Ryoga said, not paying attention.

"You look more like buds to me," Akane sat down inbetween the two and looked out. "The lights of the city are so pretty from up here,"

"Heh," Ranma said.

"So what were you two talking about before I showed up?"

"Uh, nuthin," Ranma said nervously.

"It has to be if it made Saotome Ranma, Man among men, properly apologize to someone," She said.

"You were spyin' on us?" Ranma asked angrily.

"I was stealth training,"

"Oh," When Ranma seemed to accept that, Ryoga and Akane looked at each other before erupting into fits of laughter. "What? What's up? Did I miss something funny?" The girl asked.

"No, not at all," Akane said. "But hey, why are you in girl form? There's hot water you know,"

"Can't change back for a day or two," Ranma said absently.

"Oh yeah." Akane nodded in understanding.

"What the heck are you two talking about, anyway?" Ryoga asked.

"You should know, idiot, you were the one who brought it up the other day," Ranma growled. The meaning was lost on Ryoga as he had no clue as to what she was talking about. "It's not important. What's important is…" Ranma turned serious and looked at Akane. "Akane, I found out about last week." She said evenly. Akane looked at her and when realization dawned her face was blank.

"O-oh?" She asked looking at Ryoga.

"Pig boy didn't tell me nuthin'," Ranma said, crossing her arms. "Akane, why couldn't you trust me enough to tell me what had happened?" Akane turned to look at her and sighed. "Did you think I couldn't deal with the fact that I beat a bunch a' people up?"

"I knew it would devastate you," She admitted. "You're not the nicest person around, but you're not murderous either. You were possessed, but I knew that if you knew what it was you'd done, you'd feel guilty about it. You're always feeling guilty about stuff that isn't your fault," She sighed.

"That's not true," Ranma protested.

"…Hate to admit it, but it is," Ryoga said. The two girls looked at him in surprise. "Back when Akane and I fist met…"

"And then, with Ukyo," Akane said. "I can't believe you just stood there for her."

"Hey, I did dodge when she tried to kill me," the girl said.

"Still, you have a tendency to take responsibility for something you haven't done,"

"But that _was_ me," Ranma insisted. "Of course I should take responsibility.

"That wasn't you. That was the guy we fought last night," Ryoga said. "You're two different people, obviously. He's a demon, you're not. That's the end of it." Ryoga said. "Enough about that. I've had enough of being depressed lately, I don't need to put up with this crap,"

"Fine, fine," Ranma said. "There's one more thing though. This morning you said I used a technique from your dreams. What did you mean by that?"

"What?" Ryoga asked.

"When 'I' killed that other monster," Ranma said, trying to get the lost boy to remember. "C'mon, you called it something…the Gekikou Ken or something…"

"Satsugeki Bukou Ken." Ryoga said suddenly. "It is a deadly technique designed to quickly annihilate the opponent that is always unique to the user and can be used by either a fist or a sword, or combination of both. The technique is actually more of a focus that allows it's user to branch from one fighting technique to the next without pause…" He shook his head. "I can't remember the rest."

"W…what?" Akane asked.

"Ryoga, what kind of dream _was_ that?"

"I believe I can explain," came a familiar voice. Kuno was standing there with a tired expression on his face. The three looked at Kuno's forehead with wide eyes as the sigil of Jupiter shone on his forehead.

-----


	9. Eternity PT1

Disclaimer: the author of this story owns none of the series, characters, or locations mentioned in this story unless stated otherwise.

Note: The next two chapters diverge from the main storyline, and are essentially a two-part 'Movie'. It follows the adventures of the very first members of the NWC. After the next chapter, I'll return to my usual format.

---

The three teens stared at Kuno in silent surprise at the symbol on his forehead.

"What is that?" Ranma-chan asked suddenly. "We've seen that before."

"We've seen that before?" Akane muttered in confusion.

"That's the roman symbol for Jupiter or something, right?" Ryouga asked. 'Don't they teach that in astrology?' He glanced at Ranma and Akane. Kuno nodded and joined the three teens, sitting opposite of them on the ground.

"Or something, yes…" Kuno muttered. "It is a symbol of my ties with the Jovian planet."

"What do you mean?" Ranma-chan asked, confused.

"Simply put, it is a representation of the link between myself and the fifth planet of the solar system."

"A link between you…and a planet?" Ryouga asked. "You mean a physical link?"

"Yes."

"Well, okay, but… what does that have to do with Ryouga's dream?" Akane asked stiffly.

"Everything. And nothing." Everyone present gave Kuno a half lidded stare. "Hibiki, describe your… dreams."

"Uh, well… The best way to describe them is like some kind of continuous fantasy…" He looked up at Kuno. "You know, I think I've seen you in one of them before, or something…"

"Your name was Emilio back then, was it not?"

'Back then?' Ryouga paused. "That's what they call me in the dream, yes…"

"Indeed…" Kuno looked thoughtful for a moment. "This can only mean one thing. Some unknown power has seen fit to bring us together again…"

"Eh?"

"Kuno…" Akane started. 'I'd say "You're not making any sense" but…' She and the other two teens uncomfortably looked everywhere but at the boy as he rambled on about 'Astral Warriors' or some such. 'You'd be scaring me if you actually were being coherent.'

"Wait, wait, wait-up, time out." Ranma-chan finally interrupted Kuno's ramblings. "What the hell are you talking about? I'm completely lost," She said, annoyed.

"Then allow me to show you what he means," came a familiar, snide voice. All of the teens looked at the shape with wide eyes. A man who could have been Ranma's twin dressed in all black with an extremely long pigtail was smirking off to the side, holding a massive purple blade over his shoulder.

"You!"

"Heh, me." He smirked. "What are you gonna do about it?"

"This!" Ranma-Chan leapt at him with a scowl on her face and the greatest amount of speed she could muster.

"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk," the Copy-Ranma waved a finger. Ranma-chan found herself floating. "I thought it was made apparent just how weak you are in contrast to myself." He threw his hand out and Ranma-chan flew across the room before hitting a wall. The other teens growled as they stood up to engage him. "Sigh." He shook his head and they blinked at his actual vocalizing of the word. "Don't you fools ever learn? Did you not just see me stop him with minimal effort?"

"What do you intend to do to us?" Kuno asked as he thumbed his bokken.

"A favor." He smirked as the redhead sat up. "If your deaths were my aim, then you'd all have died before you knew I was here. No, instead, I'm going to do you a favor." They looked at him in confusion and he sighed. "How does a trip to the past sound? The far, _distant_ past?"

"What?" Akane asked, confused.

"You can't mean…" Kuno and Ryouga's eyes widened at the implications.

The air around the sword vibrated with a hum as it began glowing. Before anyone could react, there was a bright flash of blue energy, an explosion and suddenly all of the teens fell to the back end of the room as an explosive burst of air pushed them in. Nabiki fell in through the door and the five screamed as it nearly flew off of its hinges. The air started pulled on them from outside. Ryouga caught Nabiki, and shoved his fingers through the wall so as to grip it better, while Akane and Kuno held onto the door opposite of the open one. It too swung open and the teens' eyes widened with fear as the hinges started pulling themselves from the wall.

Ranma was gripping the wide sofa they had all been sitting on not a minute earlier while her copy merely floated off to the side, watching as they all attempted to avoid being sucked out of the compartment. Ranma-chan looked out the door and was horrified at what she saw. Their part of the plane had been torn off and beyond the door was a seemingly endless visage of clouds and sky. She noticed how the door opened inwards, and a small nudge would make it turn so that the vacuum of air would pull the door shut, insulating the room in the process. She threw a tiny bolt of energy at it, and as she'd hoped, the door slammed shut as the vacuum savagely pulled on it.

Without the vacuum holding them in the air, they all fell to the ground in crumpled heaps. They had flipped sometime during the excitement, meaning that the floor was actually one of the walls, and nothing was upside right. Ranma-chan looked up at her copy, who only chuckled as he slowly vanished.

"You coward! Damn you!" She screamed in vain at his dissipating form, rewarded only with his incessant laughing.

"What the hell is going on?!" Nabiki cried as she sat up.

"Nabiki?" Akane asked. Ranma leapt up and clung to the sofa as she looked out of the large window that had been in what was previously their floor. "What are you doing here?"

"That's not important," The girl said, pulling a hand through her hair to smooth it out.

"She was tryin' to spy on us," Ranma-chan explained. "She fell in when it opened."

"Ranma," Ryouga started, suddenly. "I'm pretty sure we're falling to our deaths. Why do you sound so calm?"

"Well, you're right," Ranma-chan said, craning her neck to see outside of the window as best she could. "We're fallin' all right. But it looks like we're gonna land in some water-" The room shook as it violently impacted the water and continued descending. She paused and she made a motion of looking up as the room quickly faded into darkness. "Yep, we're underwater," She said. "But the door seems to be holding, so I wouldn't worry about drowning just yet." As she finished her sentence, all sunlight had faded into darkness as they sunk to the depths of whatever body of water they were in. There was a loud thump and the girl fell to the floor before someone else groaned in pain.

"That's going to cost you, Saotome," the middle Tendo's voice could be heard growling as they all moved around. A ball of light appeared and everyone turned to see the source; Ranma was holding a ball of Chi in her hands. "Okay, that's better," the middle Tendo said. "Let's review what's happened so far." She said. "Some evil Ranma appeared and literally ripped our plane to bits, but some how we're still alive, in this tiny compartment." There was a group nod. "We're underwater and sinking very quickly." There was another group nod. "We're underwater in a torn off section of a plane, sinking, with no way of escape." There was another nod, slower this time, as the realization set in. There was a loud noise outside as they impacted the ground and their impromptu submarine tipped over, righting itself. They avoided falling by moving as it turned.

"That means that there's tons of water pressure bearing down on this little dinghy," Nabiki said in a sudden fearful voice. "And Ranma, did you say that that door opens _in_?" She asked, pointing at the door.

"Y-yeah," the redhead breathed. Akane for her part was doing some old prayer her mother had taught her. Nabiki joined in without a second thought and Ryouga looked at them, before realizing how familiar that particular prayer was and joining in himself. Kuno for his part was sitting cross-legged, with his bokken propped up against his shoulder, with an eerie calm that announced he had already accepted the ultimate fate that befell all. "What the hell," Ranma-chan said, angrily. "I didn't become the best martial artist in the world to die like this!"

"That's good," came the agonizingly familiar voice. They all stopped what they were doing and looked up at the floating visage of their enemy. "If you want to get back to your time, you must find this and master it of your own volition," He held up the huge, purple sword.

"No thanks, bastard, I don't use weapons."

"Fine, then you can just perish along with this planet when the time comes," He said.

"What?!" Akane asked, confused. "What is going to happen to Earth?!"

"Nothing. But you're not on Earth, see," He smirked. "The… 'planet' you're on, however, is set to be obliterated by the end of the month…Oh, but if you just stay here, you'll all suffocate or be crushed by the water when it finally comes in," He pointed at the door as water started leaking in through the cracks. "Well, I guess that sums up your pathetic lives. See you on the flipside, eh?" He laughed one last time as he vanished with a flash of light.

"Dammit!" Ranma slammed her fists into the floor. "What the hell are we supposed to do!?"

"I would suggest escaping this little imitation of a vessel first," resounded their enemy's voice.

"How are we supposed to do that?!" She asked agitatedly as she looked around.

"Really, you can't figure it out? I guess you're doomed to die, then," The voice echoed impassively. Nabiki looked up at the ceiling and frowned.

"You asshole!" Ranma yelled. This time, there was no response, only the unnatural light of Ranma-chan's chi.

"Saotome," Nabiki said. "Perhaps we have a way to survive yet." She steeled her gaze down to the neo-girl. "Would it be possible to use your energy to capture all of the air in here and keep it secure? You know, make a bubble?"

"Y-yeah," Ranma said blankly. "But how would we get out?"

"Air can shift rather easily," She said. "If you put all of your energy around the air right now and blow apart the ceiling, we might be able to make it to the surface."

"How do you know how deep we are?" the red head asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"It wasn't long from the time we hit the water to the time we it the bottom. We can't be too deep."

"We were moving pretty fast." Ranma countered.

"We haven't got all day, so any plan is good enough for me," Ryouga interrupted their little argument.

"Likewise," Kuno said. "I suppose I can see the merit to Nabiki Tendo's plan. If we were to all huddle together and some how blast apart the ceiling, the air would undoubtedly carry us up with great speed," He nodded.

"Exactly," Nabiki nodded.

"How are we going to blast apart the ceiling?" Akane asked. Ranma looked at Ryouga, who had a grim expression settled on to his face. There was no way he'd be getting out of this mess without either dying, or having his curse exposed to Akane. Ryouga turned away from them all and looked up.

"Leave that to me," he said. 'At the very least, I can ensure your survival, Akane…' Ranma-chan nodded at that and with a flash, her chi engulfed the room with a bright glow. She appeared to be putting forth a tremendous effort as she had furrowed her brow, and her face was red with the rush of blood. For good measure, each of the teens grabbed on to her. Ryouga turned around to look at her and smirked. "Are you ready?" She nodded and he held up a finger to the hull. "Bakusai Tenketsu!" Instantly, the hull burst upwards with an explosion and the group felt a great rush as the massive air bubble shot up like a rocket, pulling them along.

They all painfully slammed into a large black metallic surface and Ranma groaned as her concentration was nearly torn. The air bubble retained its round shape as much as it could while bits and pieces of it started breaking off. Ryouga clung to the metal surface as well as he could to avoid the water below them and he re-enforced the barrier with his own energy while looking around the hull of the black behemoth they'd crashed into. Black metal stretched practically forever in all directions and he realized they'd never make it in time by climbing around whatever they'd hit.

He finally spotted something that looked like light, blinked as two large shapes descended from within the one they had crashed into, and realized it was a door of some sort. He gave a resigned sighed as he realized they'd have to swim through the water to get to where they needed to after all.

"Guys! Over there!" He pointed at the closing door and they all looked up at the light.

"We hit some kind of ship," Nabiki announced as she noted the smaller submarines diving down towards where they'd come from. 'If we'd waited for a few more seconds…' She mentally cursed; someone had obviously seen them fall into the water, and Earth or not, it looked like they were concerned enough to send scouts… then again, how would they have gotten out? Would the natives of wherever 'here' was even be friendly? 'Wait a minute…' "We can go in the way those little subs came out!" She said quickly. "But it looks like we'll have to swim from here…" There was silence before Ranma and Ryouga looked at each other. Ryouga nodded and grabbed onto the girl's waist. Nabiki raised an eyebrow at that but nothing else.

"Okay, you guys ready? I'm gonna let go of the bubble," Ranma announced, to which they all nodded. "In three…two…one…NOW!" They all breathed in as the bubble bled away, and the air they were in speedily floated up and away, around the hull of the hulking vessel they'd crashed into. All at once, they swam towards the opening and Nabiki's eyes widened as she realized it was closing. She redoubled her efforts and nearly sighed with relief as she swam into the opening. The others followed and they all started swimming up. It wasn't ten seconds later that the four teens were greeted with a blast of fresh air just as there was a resounding thud beneath them as the door shut. They all gasped the air and were near ready to celebrate when Akane noticed the absence of one of their companions.

"W-where's Ryouga?!" She asked worriedly, looking around. "What happened to him!?"

"He's in Saotome's armpits," Nabiki drawled rather casually. Akane blinked at first but looked at Ranma-chan and she noticed the small black shape under Ranma's arm.

"P…P-chan?" She asked tentatively. "Ryouga…He's P-chan?" Ranma turned away with a grim look on her face as Kuno looked on in confusion. Akane's eyes rolled up in her head and she lost consciousness.

"Well, I guess she took that rather well," Nabiki said in annoyance as she held onto her sister and looked around. "There's something we can stand on over there," She pointed at a wall with a ladder on it that was no more than ten meters away and they all began swimming towards it. Ranma climbed up onto the ground and looked around in contemplative silence as her companions caught their breath.

"I do not understand," Kuno said after a moment. "What did she mean when she said that our companion from earlier was the small porcine animal under the pig-tailed girl's arm?"

"Oh," Ranma said. "Forget about it, Kuno," She commented lazily, waving it off.

"But I must insist, pig-tailed girl. Our companion may be…dead, and we have no explanation for how that… piglet… appeared."

"Well you see," Ranma-chan said, holding up the pig. "This little guy has the amazing power to transform into a human when certain circumstances are wet, and likewise as a human can return to the fierce form of a wild boar."

"Oh," Kuno snorted. "That."

"That?" Nabiki asked with a raised brow. "You don't seem very surprised, Kuno."

"Ah, yes, well it takes much more than the average trick to faze Tatewaki Kuno," He said in a suave tone with a impassive look on his face.

"I see," she nodded, filing his reaction away for later. Nabiki took the time to finally look around the room before whistling. They were in a large room with many of the smaller submarines she'd noticed earlier. The walls and floor were plated with some kind of metal and she could not for the life of her recognize any of the symbols that dotted the sides of the miniature submarines and walls. "My first guess is some kind of research vessel or something. Then again, what with it not being Earth, this could be anything, really."

"How do you know he wasn't lying about us being on another planet, or even the past?" Ranma asked seriously.

"I might not be a linguist or anything," Nabiki started, motioning a large word 'painted' into the wall behind Ranma. "But think I've seen most of Earth's 'Today' scripts. That's not Latin, Chinese, Arabic, Greek, or anything. I opt to go with the prompt." She shrugged. Ranma blinked at the sign and narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"You're right, but…why do I recognize that script?" She asked, scratching her head unintelligently.

"I as well have seen that before," Kuno said.

"In your dreams?" Nabiki asked the boy. He stiffened before slowly nodding. "So that's the language the people of your previous empire used, correct?" He nodded again, faster this time. "Can you translate it?"

"I think that says 'deck three' or somethin'," Ranma-chan said. Kuno, P-chan and Nabiki shot her a surprised look, and Nabiki looked at Kuno for confirmation.

"I believe the pig-tailed girl is correct." Nabiki looked at Ranma again, who merely shrugged.

"There has to be some kind of map or somethin'," Ranma said, looking around. She spotted a blank panel on the wall and walked over to it, looking around in confusion. Nabiki and Kuno joined her while P-chan sat down next to Akane's unconscious body. She put a hand on her chin and Kuno stood beside her before touching the flat panel. Suddenly, it sprang to life, surprising both her and Nabiki. They fell backwards as the display hummed and blared to life with a bright blue glow. There was a white screen with five jade boxes that had words in the nameless language before them written in more white. Kuno touched a few more of them as his female companions stood and stared. After a few seconds of this, a large picture of a vessel appeared before them, and Nabiki assumed that it was the ship they were on. She whistled as a tiny box lit up on the model and a line led from it to a phrase that she could assume to be 'You are here.'

"Impressive," Nabiki intoned. "It's not everyday your random teenage boy is able to operate alien technology like this."

"…" Kuno was silent as he looked at the model.

"Hey Kuno, do you know where we can get some hot water?" Ranma asked in an annoyed voice.

"Hot water…" He repeated. It sounded more like he knew what it was for rather wanting to ask her if he'd heard right. "I believe we could get that here," He said, pointing at a block. "We could go here, but it's not advisable," He said, pointing a closer block. This one was in an irregular looking sect of squares.

"A kitchen…" Ranma blinked, then shook her head. "People will notice us."

"Which is why I recommended the earlier selection." She looked up at where he'd pointed first.

"No latrines or nuthin' nearby either…" She said annoyed. The unoccupied crew quarters will have to do," Ranma gave a resigned sigh.

"You two talk as if you know this ship," Nabiki smirked at Ranma who shrugged in response.

"Yea', I know this…place. Don't know how or why but I do, and that's all that matters for now. We can worry about the details later."

"And I know it well enough," Kuno intoned. There was suddenly some violent squeaking off to the side and they all turned to see Akane strangling the little piglet with a crazed look in her eyes. "What in blazes…"

"Akane! Let him go!" Ranma said hurriedly as she ran over to her two friends.

"Let him go?" the hysterical girl looked up with deranged eyes at her fiancé. "I'll _kill _it! Kill IT!" Ranma sighed and held in spot on her neck with her finger. Akane's movements slowed down and her grip became weaker. The pig easily escaped her grasp and flew into Ranma's arms as the youngest Tendo girl fell down and aimlessly flailed her body in a futile attempt to regain control and dismember the little porker. "GRAGHH!" The three teens watched in disgusted silence as the girl growled and continued flailing with righteous anger. After at least five minutes, the girl's efforts slowed down substantially and tears began to gather in her eyes as reality began to set in.

"Akane…" Ranma started. "We have to worry about the here and now at the moment. What you do to Ryouga can wait until we're all sure we can survive."

"Oh I already know what I'm going to do," She said, narrowing her eyes as she hissed at the little black piglet. The pig could only sit there and stare at the ground as his world crumbled around him.

"Now come on, Akane, we've got to go now," Ranma said, tapping her again. Akane didn't move for a few seconds as feeling slowly came back, but growled and eventually stood up. "I don't like this, but that guy obviously has reasons for sending us here. If we're to survive whatever he puts us through, we're all gonna have to work as a team. I know some of us normally wouldn't work together," She said, nodding at Kuno and Nabiki, "But this is way more serious, and I know I can count on you guys when it's serious. Don't let me down." She was met with several of assent from most of the group and they all started walking towards a door in a corner of the room.

The group came into a wide corridor that went on seemingly forever; they couldn't see where it ended. The hall was very bland; the walls were made from that same light grey metal, although they had a much more smoothed out design giving it a streamlined feeling. The floor was a dark tan color and very soft, but none of the teens could readily identify the material that was used; it certainly wasn't any kind of fabric they'd ever encountered before. Various doors dotted the hall from one end to the next and the room was clearly lit with no visible light source.

"Where are we supposed to go from here?" Nabiki asked. Ranma peered into the distance and turned around. The others turned with her to see an echo of the other side of the hall.

"Well, both ways lead to a lift, but…" the red head scratched her head and Nabiki sighed.

"Is there any reason for it to be so abhorrently long?" Nabiki asked

"It's a self supporting space station," Kuno replied. "It's this large so that it can survive on it's own for incredibly long periods of time. However, the design, down here at least, does leave something to be desired," he admitted.

"It is rather repetitive," Akane commented, tense. "Why is it empty, though?"

"My memories aren't that great, but I think that this may be an emergency area or something. You'd think with all this superior technology they'd have a short range transporter or at least an elevator that moves sideways," Ranma grumbled.

"Perhaps we can suggest something to that effect," Kuno sighed in exasperation as he started in one of the two directions. The others merely followed.

At least half an hour later they arrived at the end of the extended hall, which was fitted with a rather large double-door that opened automatically upon their nearing it. The four teens and pig entered the lift and looked around. It was designed with a different feeling; the walls were a soft tan color; the same as the floor and made with a furry material that she could tell was soft. The only metal present was the door itself and it was almost perfectly reflective in it's cleanliness. Ranma was expecting an elevator girl to announce her presence, some kind of announcement about the sales on floor six. One of the blank panels that had been in the room with the smaller vessels was present as well, and Kuno went to it immediately to find out where they were.

"Wait a minute, Kuno," Nabiki said. "That place we're planning to go to, does it have any kind of human… err alien presence?"

"I do not believe so." He responded as he input several commands into the panel.

"That's good. I'm sure we'd look horribly out of place here," She nodded.

"That's right. We need a plan to get out of here," Ranma muttered absently. "I have a feeling what we need isn't here."

"We need to figure out a lot of things, but that can wait until we're comfortable." Nabiki answered. 'It's obvious who'll be the brains of _this_ group,' She sighed. 'Of all the unlikely situations… Oh well. Life with Ranma is never dull, I guess.'

"We need to get to level six," Kuno announced. "The area is slightly more populated, but we can manage avoidance,"

"Slightly? Man, security is lax here," Nabiki muttered.

"They have no reason to have increased security when they are part of an empire with totalitarian rule that spans the entire solar system." Kuno explained, inputting the final commands into the panel.

"What about insurgents?" Nabiki prodded as she gave Kuno a skeptical look. "Surely not everyone is satisfied with the way this…errr, country, is ruled,"

"That's…" Ranma-chan started. "We'll have time for that later. But right now, we don't need to question something we can use to our advantage."

"The pig-tailed girl is correct. We should move on," Kuno said, turning around. The door opened to reveal a completely different setting and the Tendo sisters blinked. This time, the hall was lined with vines and the hall seemed to be a hollowed out log. The ground was the same as before, and also like before, the room was lit up with no visible light source.

"When did we start moving?" Akane asked. 'I didn't even feel the elevator start up…'

"Follow me," Kuno announced as he exited the lift. Ranma complied rather quickly and the two sisters looked at each other before going after them. As they walked along the corridor, Akane took in their surroundings. The scent of the vines was relaxing and the wood gave the corridor a natural ambiance. She absently reached out and knocked on the wood before pulling her hand back, convinced that it was real.

"What place is this?" she absently muttered.

"The main ship was originally for long-term war, but it was eventually adapted to be a self-sustainable research station." Kuno elaborated. "The entire colony has six sectors like this one, all with artificial recreations of natural environments. It's mainly for all of the research subjects that live on the vessel."

"Wait… Main ship?" Nabiki asked.

"That is correct. This is merely a section of the colony. I will be able to show you a diagram later if it still interests you."

"We're here," Ranma announced. They were standing before a simple single door. Ranma reached over to something resembling a keypad and hit several of the buttons before the door shot up. As they walked in, Akane gawked; the room was extravagantly festooned and extremely comfortable. There were two large beds and something resembling a recliner. There was a stand on either side of the bed and the comforter was silken to the touch, but the material inside was thick and made to retain heat to a relaxing temperature. Ranma approached another door and it shot up automatically as she continued walking.

"Now what?" Nabiki asked as she sat on the edge of a bed as Kuno walked over to the panel and activated it. Akane fell back into the recliner with a sigh.

"Now we figure out what the hell's going on and what we're gonna do about it." Ranma's voice came out as she walked out of the room she'd gone into. A fully clothed Ryouga followed as he finished drying off his face with a towel. Ryouga stopped at the door, but Ranma continued over to one of the beds.

"OK. We're on an alien submarine-space-station, apparently in the distant past and on a completely different planet, and we still don't know the full extent of the situation," Nabiki said.

"We're not on the actual station," Tatewaki snorted. They all turned to him and he tapped the screen again before a layout of the vessel they were on appeared. "This is merely a scout ship for field missions and the like."

"Okay," Nabiki started. "We're on a scout ship with deployable mini-subs, apparently in the distant past, on a completely different planet, with three idiots who can all give us a well-informed tour of the_ Enterprise,_ and _still_ don't know the full extent of the situation." She shook her head. "However, the weirdness of the situation is all but lost on me. I blame Saotome," She glared at the younger girl, who shrunk back nervously.

"Perhaps a plan of action would be best," Kuno announced without turning to face them. "What were the foul demon's conditions for returning home?"

"He said something about mastering that giant purple sword, then vanished," Ranma-chan commented, narrowing her eyes in thought. 'I know I've seen that thing before, though…'

"What could he be planning? He wants you to master a sword that you don't have," Akane said, mirroring her fiancé's thoughtful look.

"Obviously he wants us to find that thing. I don't trust him for a minute, but it's better than sitting around," Ranma conceded as she fell back to lie on the bed.

"There must be a reason for it," Nabiki insisted. "Why would he make an enemy stronger?"

"Well he did come from _me_," Ranma-chan admitted. "He probably wants me stronger to make it interesting,"

"Yeah, that sounds like you, Saotome. Supremely overconfident," Ryouga snorted. "Let's hope it works in our favor for once."

"Then you agree with Ranma?" Nabiki spoke up.

"It's the only thing that makes sense," Ranma-chan snapped. "I don't know how the mind of a demon works."

"Well, all right," Nabiki sighed. "Okay, but that leaves us. Why the hell would he bring all five of us here?"

"He doesn't seem the type to care for who gets caught in the crossfire," Ranma shrugged. "We've been through a lot of weird stuff. A trip to the past-"

"And outer space," Nabiki interjected.

"And _outer space_," Ranma continued. "Shouldn't be too much to handle. I'm sure we'll find a way back."

"There's also your memories," Nabiki pointed out.

"I can't even begin to understand that," Ranma admitted. "Unlike Ryouga and Kuno, I haven't been havin' any dreams or nothin' that would explain it. It's like I just know these things. Reading those weird letters was like reading Japanese." She shook her head and sat back against the wall. "I don't want to think about that right now. I guess we should focus on finding that magic sword right now." She sighed as she sat on the bed. 'Man, it's one thing after another this week, isn't it? I won't be able to change back into a man until tomorrow, at least.'

"Okay," Ryouga started, skeptically. "But how do you intend to find out about this sword of yours?"

"Well…" Ranma blinked and started scratching her head. "What else can we do? We ask around," she shrugged. "It can't be that hard."

"Ranma," Nabiki started in an amused tone. "Do you really think these people would take well to five strangers appearing on their little space ship and asking for information on something like that?"

"Uh…" Ranma's furrowed her brow in annoyance. "Well do _you_ have any bright ideas?" She asked.

"Sure I do," She said, turning to face Kuno. "Kuno, you think you can find out about it with that sword?" She asked.

"Eh?" The boy looked at her in surprise at hearing his name called, as he hadn't been paying attention. "I suppose. It wouldn't hurt to try," He shrugged as he went back to the device.

"For now, we should rest," Nabiki sighed. "It was fairly late when he attacked us. If we're going to do _anything_, I'd rather it be after a good night's sleep."

"How are we going to get food?" Ranma asked with a pained grimace as her stomach grumbled.

"Leave that to me, Pig-tailed girl," Kuno said. "When you awake, all of your needs will be met."

"If you say so," Ranma sighed.

"There are…other rooms we can use, right?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ranma nodded as she stood up. "There are some rooms with two beds like this one, but most only have one…I think." Akane and Nabiki nodded and the two girls left the room. When the door shut, Ranma turned to face her rival. "Hopefully, by the time all of this is over, Akane will have forgiven you," She yawned and stood up to stretch. "I'll see you two in the morning," She announced before following the other two girls out of the room.

The lost boy merely sighed as he ambled over to the bed Ranma'd been on.

"I seem to have missed something," Kuno mumbled.

"Eh?" Ryouga blinked as he looked over at the other teen. "What's up?"

"Akane Tendo's averse attitude towards you is most… noticeable. Especially when she saw you transform."

"When she saw me… you mean you noticed?" Ryouga asked in a dry voice. "It could have been a body switch, you know."

"I…" Kuno fought back a growl. "Yes, I noticed. You are like the Amazon and her consort, are you not?" He asked. Ryouga nearly snorted at the inaccurate view of Shampoo and Mousse's relationship.

"Eh? I guess you could say that." 'Maybe he'll finally realize…' "Have you noticed any one else like that?" He asked, raising a brow.

"The foul sorcerer's father has also exhibited such a spectacular transformation."

"Any one else? How about the 'foul sorcerer' himself?" He asked, holding in a breath. Kuno was silent for a while as he continued his manipulation of the touch panel. Ryouga merely shook his head when he realized he wouldn't be getting an answer from the other boy. He took off his shoes and lie backwards on the bed as his exhaustion began to catch up to him.

---

Ranma lay underneath the layers of blankets that were on her bed with her eyes closed. She was finding sleep hard, as every time she tried, the face of her enemy would form in her mind. The sneering, pompous, arrogant visage of her male self was not something she could easily ignore.

"Dammit," She opened her eyes and found that while it was still pitch black, with her eyes trying to focus, the face that haunted her was easier to ignore. "I'm going to kill that bastard," she promised her self. "Such a monster…doesn't deserve to exist. He's just…just a pale imitation… a sick mockery…" She focused on the rhythm of her breathing after that, trying to find solace in the calm repetition.

"Heh heh heh," came the familiar voice. Ranma's eyes widened and she felt her heart skip a beat. Suddenly, two glowing eyes opened parallel to hers, and she realized the man was floating above her. "That's hilarious. I don't need to do a damn thing, and yet still I cause you no end of discomfort." She gasped as she felt something wet on her cheek and growled and threw a fist from her position. He laughed as he floated up, easily moving out of the path of her limb. She sat up and grit her teeth as she wiped the wet spot on her face off on the blanket in disgust. "Hah hah hah! You're such a child," She could practically hear the grin in his face.

"You bastard," She narrowed her eyes. "You sick bastard!"

"Flattery will get you everywhere,"

"You're watching us, aren't you?" She seethed. Their greatest enemy had been with them the entire time, yet none of them could do a thing about it.

"Of course not. I've been busy, getting things ready," He continued. She glared up into his glowing eyes. "You might want to change your expression or your face will get stuck that way," He said suddenly.

"Shut up," She snapped. "What the hell do you want?"

"That is a secret," He said cheerfully.

"You wanna fight or something?!" She asked, angrily. "I'll fight you, right now!"

"As fun as that might be, no." His eyes vanished and Ranma blinked. Before she knew it, a feeling of incredible exhaustion crept up on her, and she felt herself falling asleep.

-

Ranma opened her eyes and sat up, looking around. She blinked as she took in her surroundings. She was in a field of flowers with a light breeze, yet it was warm and she did not seem to notice the breeze. She looked around in confusion before she realized where she was. She turned around and looked up at a familiar palace.

"That's…"

"Where you must go." The voice came from behind her and she instantly and literally leapt into action, jumping backwards with her foot raised for a kick. She blinked as she passed through nothing. The man started laughing and she looked up at him in disdain as she growled. He smirked down at her. "Is that any way for you to act when you're dressed as you are?" Ranma looked down and realized what she was wearing.

'Frilly' didn't come close to describing it. To Ranma, it was an abhorrent abomination that could only have been spewed from the very bowels of the deepest pit of all the hells. Anyone else would have seen a pale regal gown that flowed down to her ankles, waving in the gentle wind. Ranma blinked and noticed her hair had turned a lighter shade of red; not pink, but more like a reddish-white color, and that it also was not in the usual pig-tail, but was tied into twin ponytails that when she felt, recognized as being the same style Usagi and Usagi constantly wore.

"What the hell is going on?" She muttered. "I don't understand you at all. First you're trying to kill my friends, then you beat me up, and now you're trying to help me. What is your _problem_?" She asked as he floated down to the ground.

"I wasn't lying when I said you'd lose control if you didn't let me back into you," He ignored her and turned to face the castle. "As for beating up your friends… Well, I've been fed up with them all for quite a while. They deserved it, if not worse." He snorted.

"That's not true. You nearly killed them all. And in that other dream world, you…" She growled as she remembered how easily he'd decimated her, Cologne, Ryouga, and even that guy who… neither claimed nor denied godhood.

"Okay, I lied. Sue me." He smirked. "I did it for the hell of it. There, you happy?" Ranma-chan growled but for some reason could not bring herself to strike him. He shrugged. "Pallas… I was actually surprised that Pallas didn't recognize me right away, at first."

"You know him?"

"Oh yeah," he said with a bitter laugh. "We go _way_ back." He turned to face her. "You know, 'gods' are no better than 'demons'. When you really need them, they don't do jack shit, and when you don't need them, they annoy the hell out of you. If you anger them, they 'smite' you. Smite being another word for murder, by the way." He shrugged before turning to face the palace again. "He is a god, or at least as close to it you can be without being one. And like other 'gods', when a great number of people needed him, he ignored them. I have no respect for the guy." Ranma looked at him in confusion before sighing and walking over to join him.

"Who…who are you?" She asked as she looked at him. "There's no way you just…came from me." She crossed her arms and frowned at him.

"Finally, the question I've been waiting for," He said in a dead voice. "You took long enough, you know."

"Well?"

"How to begin, how to begin…" He turned to face her, and she blinked as his all-black ensemble rapidly melted into a pale, silver-white color. His hair matched it as well, and she blinked at his now sapphire eyes. "Once upon a time, you and I were siblings. Twins, actually," He smirked. "We appear now as we did then." She blinked and then her eyes widened as she looked down at herself.

"W-what?!" She growled as she whipped her head up and looked into his laughing eyes.

"It's true, you know. You were a girl originally. My twin sister."

"That's impossible!" She growled.

"We were originally two souls. You are the product of those two fusing, but only have half that soul right now. The technicalities of it all are frivolous."

"How is it you broke off from me?" She asked angrily.

"It's simple. Our souls fused when we died, but began to separate when you started getting complacent with your shitty life. Once I reached a full awareness, I decided that this was no way for me to live. I came up with a few plans to separate from you, or at least gain some amount of control, but none of them ever worked, really. Then one day, I got lucky, and that evil little jewel found its way into your body. Taking total control then was one of the easiest things I've ever done.

"When I was defeated, I used the last of our remaining energy to create a weak construct based heavily on some odd anomaly in our current DNA. Before, our souls were more or less split, but now I'd ripped them fully apart. It had ramifications that I could not have possibly known, though." He turned to face her with a tired look. "I won't last more than three months if we don't combine again, and you yourself won't last much longer than that."

"W-what?"

"We'll both die if we don't recombine, Ranma. You'll go insane first, though." He shrugged.

"You can't be serious," She growled.

"It all comes back to light and darkness," The boy said. "One can not exist without the other. The seeds of each remains in the other to serve as a reminder to that."

"…" Ranma was silent as she contemplated his words. He was right; Yin could not exist without Yang. She'd begun to notice her aura's shift several nights before, an imbalance that eventually, caused her to lose control of her emotions in an embarrassing display. "What can you tell me about my past life?" She asked.

"You're beginning to understand," the other said. "I will unlock the stream to both of our memories, and tell you enough to get you started. You must remember the rest on your own. Emilio, Vladimir and Soren were able to remember things because they didn't have the stress of having their souls split."

"Don't think this means that I like or even trust you," She growled, looking away. "If I find a way to live without you…"

"You're a fool. If there was a way for us to live separately, you'd have died long ago." There was nothing but utter seriousness in his voice.

-

Ranma awoke with a start. The room was lit in a way that resembled early morning light, but there was no visible source for the light. Once again, she scratched her head in confusion at that and sighed, wishing she could remember how it worked. She glanced up at the ceiling and hopped out of bed to put on her slippers before walking towards the bathroom as she yawned. She rinsed her face with some warm water to wake herself up and grumbled when she didn't transform. She walked out of the bathroom, left her room, and then walked over to the one they'd all been in the night before.

Ryouga and Kuno were both sitting on the ground, dressed in oddly familiar uniforms. They were a very dark shade of blue -- she'd almost mistaken it for black, and had no visible seams or threads. It appeared to be comfortable, yet wasn't skin-tight or ridiculously loose.

"Yo," Ranma blinked as her hand rose up in greeting. "What's with the uniform?"

"We're going to scope out the ship," Kuno explained. "This area may be low-maintenance, but others will be brimming with crew members now. It's best to go incognito."

"Oh." Ranma blinked. "You two are going out alone?"

"Well…" Ryouga started. "You could come, but it would be best if you stayed here. If someone found Akane and Nabiki before we could give them a translator, they'd be… well, I think you know,"

"Un," she said, biting her lip. "All right. Do you have more than those?" She asked.

"We have three others. They fit all sizes," Kuno said, motioning towards one of the beds, where three large boxes could be seen. "We _will_ have to leave soon, and I'd rather not attract too much attention when we do." He stood up and Ryouga followed suit. They both messed with their hair until it covered their ears. It was then that she noticed the two had done something to their hair to make it lighter. Kuno noticed her confused look. "Dark hair is extremely rare in these times, to the point that the ship's captain would know how many he has on his ship. We're trying to keep a low profile." Ranma blinked and nodded, assuming he'd found out that much from using the computer.

-

Moments later, Kuno and Ryouga were both standing amongst a crowd of people.

"What the heck are we doing, anyway?" Ryouga asked as he followed Kuno's lead through a huge dome like structure.

"Reconnaissance. The panel in our room did not have the clearance necessary to get the information we need."

"Uh right," Ryouga said nervously. The people all around them were all caught in their own little conversations, and the combined sound was little more than a dull roar one would expect of a crowd this size. That didn't change the fact that it was unsettling to him; they used words he should not have in any way known, yet did, with unnerving clarity. The bits and pieces of the conversations he understood, he found himself agreeing and disagreeing with several people that flew around. It was annoying and disturbing at the same time. "Where exactly are we going?" He asked. He realized he was speaking in the odd language that he couldn't even remember the name for. 'May as well just call it 'Tsukigo' or something, jeez,' Kuno sighed.

"That's not important, Hibiki. Just do as I tell you, and we might survive."

"Whatever," Ryouga responded, a little annoyed. "Why do you even need me?"

"I don't," Kuno started. Ryouga looked at him, confused.

"Then why…"

"It was the best choice. Left alone with Akane, things might have escalated." Ryouga opened his mouth to argue, but could not. Things between him and Akane would never be the same, and it probably wouldn't have been best for him to be near her so soon after her discovery. After all, he had not only revealed himself to be much worse than she'd ever thought possible, he'd betrayed her in countless ways and practically _murdered_ one of her closest friends. He'd always acknowledged that the time might come, but never went this far with that thought. Throughout the course of the day before, his mood had been worsening and was now at it's worst, possibly worst ever. He didn't seem to notice people staring at him until someone spoke up to Kuno.

"Is your friend okay?" a woman asked him, concerned.

"He gets like this at times," Kuno said rather nonchalantly. He glanced over at Ryouga and then looked her in the eyes, then leaned in and whispered to her, "His life hasn't necessarily been the best, you see. He's a kind soul though, to a fault even, and would feel even worse if people were to try and help him. He only gets better when you ignore it," he said in mock despair. She gave him a sympathetic look and a nod before backing off. "Emilio, come. We've wasted enough time here. We must get back to work," He said, forcefully grabbing his companion's arm and leading him into a double door.

Once they were through the double door, Ryouga looked up at Kuno, angry.

"What was that just now?"

"I should be asking you that."

"What?" Ryouga asked, taken aback.

"We need to keep a low profile, Hibiki." Kuno said, annoyed.

"Well? I was just minding my own business. I don't really look _that _bad, do I?"

"You were nearly glowing in there."

"W-what?" Ryouga asked, concerned. "Did I blow our cover?"

"Evidently not, but if you keep talking about it, you will," Kuno said, grabbing his arm and leading him away again. "Listen, just do as I say and hopefully things will run smoothly." He released his partner's arm and started walking in a set direction down a corridor. Ryouga growled as he followed the other boy.

"Hey, listen, Kuno…"

"Hibiki," Kuno started as he stopped at a door. It shot up and Kuno dragged Ryouga in behind him. When the door shut, he continued. "Remember Saotome's words. We can not afford to split our power here, let alone set it against each other."

"Well okay," Ryouga said. "However, while that may be true, I'll not just allow you to order me around… Hey, wait. 'Saotome'? Since when do you call 'the pigtailed girl' by her name?"

"I suppose I can understand your not wanting to follow my orders," Kuno said, ignoring his second question. "However, as I am not only your senior, I also have a clear mission in my mind with objectives and a goal, it would be in your best interests to do as I say,"

"…Fine," Ryouga sighed. "But what is our 'goal?' You still haven't told me much, other than that we were going to be looking around.

"That… I can't tell you. But know that I am one hundred percent certain of what will come to pass," Kuno said.

"… All right," Ryouga ceded. "I… trust you."

"Good." Kuno nodded and led his companion out of the room and continued in the direction he'd started in. A little while later, they walked into another room. Several people in different uniforms looked up at them. One of them, a white haired woman wearing glasses, approached them from the sides.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked pointedly.

"Uh," Ryouga said intelligently, looking at Kuno nervously.

"We're to inspect these consoles," he said. "Vladimir was very specific in telling us not to tell anyone why we had to. Especially, for some unknown reason, the head researcher." He said with a lazy look.

"Again?" the woman muttered. "Doesn't he trust me to run this station? Ten years and yet still…" She sighed in exasperation and she covered her face with a hand.

"Professor Sage, what should we do?"

"You're on break until these two jokers are done," she said in a tone that gave away her impatience. There was a group cheer as well as a few sighs as people filed out of the room. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot as she stood back and Kuno approached one of the consoles.

"We'll only be a minute,"

"Whatever," the woman snorted. She turned her gaze to Ryouga, who only nervously smiled back in return. She rolled her eyes and walked away. "Listen, I'll be back in a few minutes. Don't hurt yourselves, now," When the door shut behind her Kuno stopped what he was doing and looked at Ryouga. He inclined his head in one direction and Ryouga wordlessly followed him into another room. Kuno walked over to a desk and held up his hands as if he was about to type something. A nearly transparent keyboard appeared and he began inputting several commands at a speed Ryouga didn't know was possible.

"What the heck are you doing, anyway?" the fanged boy finally asked.

"I'm clearing the usage of five escape pods for a low profile evaluation. There will be no public notice and no one will know we're using them."

"What?" Ryouga blinked. "Don't you need some kind of… clearance… to do something like that?"

"I have the proper authorization," he said simply.

"Oh," Ryouga said as he walked over to Kuno's shoulder and watched him. After a few seconds of watching, he suddenly knew exactly what the other boy was doing and was even able to read some of the commands that floated by at insane speeds. "Is there anything I should do?"

"Not at this moment, no." Kuno stopped and looked at the holographic screen. "Hmm. This vessel is headed towards the capital…" He rubbed his chin and blinked at the screen several times.

"The capital?" Ryouga's eyes glazed over as an image became clear in his mind. Kuno glanced at him then turned his eyes back onto the screen.

'Something is wrong. My memories say that the human boy named Kuno was at large at the capital, and that Saotome and Tendo Nabiki joined him. However, as she is now, Nabiki could not do half of what she did, according to my memories. She has been far too lax on her training and… wait, wait. It took a month for them to arrive… as a matter of fact, they arrived the same day I did. Perhaps…' "Of course." Ryouga was shaken out of his reverie by that sudden statement and he looked up at Ryouga. "It seems we won't all be going the same way…" he muttered.

"Huh? What's that, Kuno?" Ryouga asked.

"Nothing for you to worry about, Hibiki. I just remembered something, that is all." The teen lied. After a few seconds of staring at the screen, he closed his eyes and input several more commands. "Hmm… this could be bad." He said upon opening his eyes.

"What? What could be bad?" Ryouga said, suddenly worried.

"I seem to have made a miscalculation. The ship's personnel have detected my presence within the system. We must prepare to leave this ship at once, Hibiki."

"W…what?" Ryouga asked, his eyes wide. "H-how is that possible?"

"Tsk tsk tsk," Kuno started, raising a brow. "You did not think that after thousands of years of not using this brand of technology that I would be subject to a few errors? Really, Hibiki, think more realistically from now on."

"Well great, now that you've screwed up your 'mission', what are we going to do? I for one do not intend on becoming the prisoner of these alien people, be them our past relatives or not!" Ryoga said vehemently. 'Hey, something's up with the way I'm talking…'

'On the contrary, everything is proceeding according to plan, Hibiki.' Kuno opened his eyes. "We should hurry and leave, then," Kuno said, taking long, quick strides away from the computer. Ryouga hurriedly followed him out of the room and they passed the white haired woman, who blinked and took a step back in surprise.

"Hey, wait a minute," She called after them. "What were you doing in there?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. Kuno spared her a glance and continued his strut. Ryouga looked back nervously and only increased his own speed. She sighed and shook her head before continuing into the smaller room. When she got to the computer station, she froze up. "What in the name of Serenity…" there was a brief pause as she took in the sight. "This is… Vladimir's interface…"

---

Ranma was lying back on her bed, looking up at the ceiling. She sat up and looked on in surprise as Kuno, followed by Ryouga, hurriedly walked into the room.

"What's up, guys?" She asked plainly.

"We need to leave," Ryouga said hurriedly.

"Did you guys screw up or something?"

"You _guys_?" Ryouga asked angrily as he shifted a glare at Kuno.

"Oh…" Ranma-chan sighed as she followed the lost boy's gaze. "So what did stick boy do? Annoy entire female populace with his usual crap?"

"Not really," Ryouga said, as a look passed over his face. 'That's right; he didn't make a pass at _any_ of the females…not even the one that deigned to speak with him for a brief moment, or that hot scientist…'

"It's not important," Kuno said. "Where are the Tendo sisters? We have no time to waste,"

"They're in their own rooms, of course. I'll go get them. I'm guessing you know the way out?"

"Yes," Kuno said. She nodded and left to get the girls and the two waited in the hall.

"We're still using the escape pods, right?" Ryouga asked.

"No. We must leave the way we came," He said.

"What?" Ryouga asked, confused.

"The vessels we saw as we came in. We must use those."

"Oh," Ryouga said, sighing in relief. There was no way he'd have ever made it to the surface.

"We're not underwater anymore, Hibiki," Kuno informed him.

"What? Then we're not…in _space_, are we?"

"No, we are not in outer space."

"Then we're just flying."

"Yes."

"Okay! We're ready!" Akane's voice came. She and Nabiki followed Ranma out of one of the other rooms, both clad in uniforms. "We're leaving, right?"

"Finally," Nabiki sighed. "Well, let's go," They all started down the corridor just as the lights dimmed to red.

"We have confirmed the presence of humans aboard this vessel. All personnel are to report to briefing rooms A1, A2, and A3. I repeat…"

"Just how did they do that?" Ranma-chan cursed their luck.

"Kuno messed up, remember?" Ryoga reminded her.

"Well if it's from that…" She narrowed her eyes in thought. Something felt out of place…

"This way, pig-tailed girl!" Kuno's voice snapped her out of her reverie and she looked up. Kuno made a sudden turn and they followed him.

"How are we leaving again?" she asked.

"Escape pods, right?"

"Why would they let us use escape pods? Wouldn't that set off some kind of alarm?" Nabiki asked. Ryoga looked at Kuno.

"We need not concern ourselves with that," Kuno said simply. "Just follow my lead, and we will survive… for now." They all suddenly stopped at a door. It was lit up with a blue color and would not open as they approached it.

"What now?" Nabiki asked. "Is there an alternate route?"

"That will not be necessary," Kuno said as he approached the door. He held up his hand and a holographic keypad appeared. He entered a series of digits at a blinding speed and the door slid open as the bluish glow dissipated. Kuno wasted no time in taking the lead, the others only took a second longer.

A while later, they came upon a long corridor that had a transparent material to serve as it's walls. All but Kuno paused to get a glimpse of the view beyond the 'glass'. It filled them with awe- the window on the Kuno private jet had been a peephole in comparison to where they were now. The door behind them shut slowly and Kuno stood, waiting patiently at the other end.

"Why is this place all see through?"

"This is an airlock," Kuno said simply. The group stared at him in confusion. "Some sections of the ship are detachable. We won't go flying out into the sky once this door opens," He assured them. The red light above the door Kuno was waiting at turned green as the opposite occurred at the door they'd come in through. They all walked over to join him and as the door slowly opened, they all became aware of a strong wind. Their hair whipped about as the door opened, Kuno and Ranma both stepped out. Ranma narrowed her eyes and held up a hand to block the strong winds.

"What the heck is this?" Ranma asked. They were in a room identical to the one they'd come into the ship through; except instead of the moderately sized miniature vessels like those they had seen descend into the ocean after them, there were rows of capsule like pods of some sort.

"Are these the escape pods?" Ryoga asked. Although Kuno merely grunted a barely heard affirmative, Ranma felt there was something wrong.

'But wait… weren't the escape pods bigger? These…these are for special forces deployment, aren't they?' "Hey, Kuno, I think we made a wrong turn!" She said. "This is for the-"

"We are, without a doubt, in the correct area," Kuno said in a firm voice. Ranma blinked and then nodded. "While it's true these will not exactly be luxurious, they will do in our current situation," He said. He ran in a direction and they all followed him across the deck, careful not to fall down and into the apparently endless sky. "They will be even more subtle than our original plan," he insisted.

'Of course- no one would expect us to escape in these! I knew your head had to be good for something!' Ranma smirked as she stood before one of the vessels. They were roughly ten feet tall, and wide enough for minimal body movement. She opened one and nearly stepped into it when Kuno put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "Eh?"

"I had already prepped some for our departure prior to arrival,"

"Really?" Ranma blinked. "Where are they?"

"Right here," He said, motioning for them to follow him. Five of them were already open and waiting for the group to get in. "Tendo Akane, Tendo Nabiki, allow me to assist you-"

"That's okay, Kuno-baby," Nabiki said, waving him off as she stepped into one. "I think I can figure this out on my own, thank you very much."

"Ah…" Kuno nodded. "Of course.

"Err," Akane blinked. "I'm not so sure…"

"Here," Kuno said, grabbing her by the hand. He set her into one of the devices and handed her a small device that resembled an earpiece. "Wear this." She nodded and did as he said as the door started closing. "We'll meet again, soon, my fair Tigress." She only boredly nodded and rolled her eyes. Ranma and Ryoga had already gotten into their own. Kuno nodded at them and approached his own. Ryoga and Ranma's pods closed. Kuno stopped briefly before the last one, and then kept walking. Four of the pods behind him fell down into the sky and he spared a look below him before he continued.

---

"What happened?" groaned a female voice.

"I'm not quite sure," grunted a male voice. Ranma quickly recognized it as Ryouga and groaned as sensation finally came back to his body. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around for the sources of the voices, trying to dull the sensations of pain coursing throughout his entire body. Ranma looked around in confusion. They were surrounded on all sides by vegetation. Deployment pods weren't exactly meant for the gentlest of landings and it was showing now in how their bones ached.

"Oh yeah…those weird escape pods… Man, intergalactic space travel and you still can't get first class for cheap," she muttered.

"Hey," Ranma started, realizing something. "Where's Akane? Kuno?" He looked around in confusion. 'Hey, why am I male?' He looked down at himself and realized something. 'This place is more humid than any valley in China! Man, this will _not_ be working in my favor…but still, how long were we out, even? I thought I still had a little while to go…'

"Maybe they landed somewhere else," Nabiki suggested. "It's a wonder the three of us landed here, together." She sighed, looking at the three of their pods. "My legs hurt like hell," she grumbled.

"Eh.." Ranma looked around. "Where is here, anyway?"

"That's a familiar line," Ryouga said, reminiscing. "We fell off of the Cerellius, but the area below us was nothing but rural land. This jungle for one, maybe a village or two."

"Hmm," Ranma rubbed his chin. "I'm gonna go look around," He said. "I don't know what it could be, but I have a feeling about this place. Something familiar." He glanced at Ryouga and Nabiki, of whom the former snorted.

"We'll be fine without you, for a few minutes, Saotome." Ryouga snorted.

"Yeah, yeah," Ranma nodded and he turned again. "I'll be right back," he said as he vanished. Ryouga looked at Nabiki and sighed. He sat down by the injured girl, glancing at her leg. The bones were set straight, and she'd heal, but that didn't change the fact that she was hurt. Although the shiatsu Ranma had done had rendered her mostly numb to the pain, there was no way she'd be able to move if something happened.

'That's right,' Ryouga thought. 'This planet may be different, but we're in the wilderness. Anything could happen.'

"I don't need you to baby me like this," Nabiki said in irritation.

"I'm just sitting here," Ryouga said, frowning.

"It's obvious you want to do something. I'm not some damsel in distress. I leave that to my sister."

"Of course," Ryouga muttered, looking away.

-

Ranma looked over some tree branches. He was settled in a huge tree, watching something.

"A jungle village. How quaint."

He watched the people below with interest. They were speaking that…whatever language, and the signs were written in the same. He strained his ears to hear what was being said. "They know we're here… well, really, who'd have missed something like three people falling from the sky?" he pondered going out when he remembered his appearance. "Wait a minute. I have this torn uniform, and my hair is…no. Too dark… Maybe there's…" He looked around and spotted a pond rather easily. "That's good." He leapt down from the tree, still cloaked in the Umisenken's invisibility technique, and walked into the clearing.

It only took him a few seconds to realize that people had stopped talking and were mostly staring at him now. He stopped walking and looked around at all of them, awkwardly. 'They can see me?' He blinked as he noticed the people's eyes tracking his movements.

Ranma blinked again, slowing down to a stop as the villagers looked at him.

"Uh…" He rubbed his head in the usual fashion. "I'm Ranma Saotome…sorry ab…" He stopped his usual introduction and blinked, as the all too familiar feeling of animosity washed over him in sudden waves. "Uh…yeah." He turned around and started walking the other way. The hair on his neck bristled and he started jogging, but soon broke out into a full sprint. He leapt up into the trees, hopping from branch to branch.

-

Ryouga suddenly froze. Nabiki turned to face him and blinked.

"Is something-" he held up a finger to his mouth to silence her and suddenly grabbed her arm, lifting her to her feet. She bit back a cry of pain in fear of the consequences, and he grabbed her and leapt straight up, into one of the lower branches. Seconds later, a group of oddly dressed people passed under them. The people stopped moving as they entered the clearing and looked around.

Nabiki strained to hear what was being said, but realized that her damaged translator wasn't doing anything to help her understand them. She looked at Ryouga who looked down at the group with a wary eye, careful to keep both of them still. The group talked for a few minutes and then split into two more groups, going in two opposite directions. Once they were gone, the two teens let out their breath.

"What the heck was that about?" Nabiki asked her guardian.

"They saw Ranma," he muttered.

"Oh. Great, leave it to Saotome to make First Contact," she muttered. "He probably accidentally engaged himself to all of their women and insulted their men,"

"That sounds like him, but no," Ryouga said carefully. "That was a hunting party, definitely. From what they said, I can tell that they do not like humans at all."

"Hunting party… to hunt humans. Great, we're on the planet of the apes," she said, disgustedly.

"More or less," he agreed, sighing. "It would probably be best to stay up here." He told her.

-

Ranma looked over his shoulder and panted as he tried to remember what he could have done to set them off.

'I walked into their village. While invisible. Then I left.' He made a sarcastic look of realization. 'Oh yes. Walking into a rural village while being Ranma Saotome… there's absolutely no greater offense.' He sighed and looked around. 'I've got to find some water...my hair's too dark like this and my ears aren't doing me any favors...although I think they'll recognize the uniform...' He stopped, frowning. 'That's right. How did they see me? I was invisible. They must have some kind of extra sense. Think; what kind of senses did the natives of this planet have...I mean, I used to be one of them, shouldn't be too hard...' He only sighed when he came up with blanks and looked around, realizing something.

'Crap, the trail I left to those two is useless if I don't know where I am now!' He cursed and looked around. 'Where the hell am I?' He tried to consider his options. He could pull a Ryouga by picking one direction and sticking to it until he hit civilization again, but the end result of that would just not do. So first he had to find water. He started walking through the trees, looking around in vain for any signs of his trail.

----

Nabiki sat in silence, looking up at the sky. Ranma had left both her and Ryouga hours ago, and Ryouga had gone out looking for him despite her protests at least more than one or two ago. The sky was darkening as the sun set, and the air was becoming much colder. She was starving, dehydrated, her body was aching and the only thing even resembling civilization was looking to skin her and all of her kind. To be blunt, things looked very, very bleak for the middle Tendo.

All alone in the wilderness with her chaperones missing and absolutely no hope of doing anything on her own... She was far more used to having more control over her situation, especially with modern conveniences. She wasn't quite the heartless wretch many people made her out to be, but it was still unnerving for her to have fallen this far.

"Hey," came a voice she recognized. She looked down and saw Ryouga on the ground. He was holding an assortment of various round and colorful shapes that she assumed to be fruit. "You can come down from there," he said.

"Come down from here?" She repeated, wishing he could see her face. Having a spasm in your eyes didn't quite help when no one could see it. "How the hell do you expect me to do that, Hibiki?"

"Jump...oh wait," he sighed, putting the fruit down. "I'll be right up," he said. Seconds later, Nabiki was gratefully on the ground besides her savior, before those wonderful looking shapes. She warily grabbed one and inspected it.

"How the hell did you find this?" she asked. She looked over the assorted fruits again in confusion. She recognized several of them - bananas, grapes, and a melon look-alike...there was an orange one that she didn't recognize, though.

"The bananas are really bananas," he said. She looked at him in confusion. "The grapes are actually called amango, I've never tasted this kind of melon before, and this is called kirima,"

"How the hell do you know that?" she asked.

"I just do," he shrugged. "They're all edible, but the amango is full of seeds," She made a note not to touch the purple things. "I already ate on the way back, so you can go ahead and eat whatever you want." She glanced up at him in thanks and ripped into the banana, being that it was the only one she actually knew. While she was chewing, she slowly came to a realization.

"Wait just a minute. How did you find _me_?"

"I left a trail of bandanas," he said sheepishly. "This jungle mutes our individual chi, so I couldn't lock on to you…"

"No way was that enough," she muttered, swallowing the mushy fruit. "Your directional sense is legendary. So how?" She took another bite of the banana.

"Oh...that. That stopped almost two weeks ago," he shrugged.

"It... jutht up and thtopped?" she practically gawked at him. Getting the fruit into her belly was more important at the moment, however, so she merely continued to work the food in her mouth.

"Yeah," he said, uncomfortably. "Could we not talk about that?" He asked. He was met with a slow nod and silence. When the girl had eaten as much of the fruit as she could stomach, they sat together in the silence. The sky was fully darkened by now, and Ranma still had yet to show. The silence stretched for what Nabiki estimated to be at least twenty minutes before she interrupted it.

"What do you think happened to Ranma?" Nabiki asked finally. "You think maybe he was captured? Those people haven't been by here recently. I think they stopped looking for him."

"They're definitely still looking for him," Ryouga sighed. "Like I said earlier, the jungle stops me from feeling his energy, but I know he's still moving around on his own."

"Really," Nabiki sighed. There was a brief pause before she spoke up again. "Ryouga...what are the chances we're going to get out of this alive?" She asked in a serious voice. Ryouga looked at her in what she interpreted as a joking way. He was barely hiding a smirk; his mouth kept twitching. "What the hell's so funny?"

"One night of the great outdoors and you're asking me if we're going to survive? Didn't you at least used to be a martial artist?" he asked.

"I'm serious," She growled. "We're not in the great outdoors, Hibiki. We're stranded on a strange planet who knows how far from Earth in a strange time with savages looking to possibly eat us or something."

"Yeah, but answer the question," he said, totally ignoring her.

"I was," she said, frowning in annoyance. "Up until I got my first black belt. Kasumi and I both quit at that time, though, because we were beginning to become more sophisticated than that silly punching and kicking you and the others find so amusing,"

"Is that when your father stopped training Akane?" he asked seriously.

"Yeah. He tried not to be obvious about it, but he really lost faith in her when the two of us quit, saying that she would just go and do the same thing. You know how that turned out," she drawled.

"She's still obsessed with martial arts, but only as good as she was when the two of you quit," he noted. "I was wondering how that had happened. Tendo-San seems to be more or less on par with Ranma's father. How long ago did you quit, anyway?"

"About...I dunno, five years ago?" She sighed.

"When's the last time you were ever even in a dojo to seriously train?"

"At least four," she sighed again. "When we stopped doing the daily thing, I was still going once a week. Don't even do that now," she admitted.

"That's not too horrible. Ranma and I can whip you into shape, no problem," He said confidently.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"We're going to be in the wilderness for who knows how long. It would be ideal if you could protect yourself."

"You can't be serious," she muttered.

"As soon as you can stand, we're going to see how much of the Art you've retained."

"Oh brother," she sighed, putting a hand on her head to stop the incoming migraine.

It didn't work.

-

Ranma looked at the glowing, green water in awe.

"Well, at least it's water..." he mused as he approached it. In the center was a tall tree whose roots were visible in the water. Several fruit for which the name lingered on the tip of his tongue, but he wasn't able to quite remember. He knelt over the water and inspected it whistling. He drug his finger through it and blinked. It was a little... thicker than water, and warm to boot. It was actually warmer than the cold, night air around him. He withdrew his finger and blinked; the liquid dripped from his finger, leaving his finger completely dry.

"Hey... there's something about the chi of that tree," he muttered. Upon closer inspection, he found that the tree was full of another odd, chi like energy and that it was seeping out into the water. "Mana?" He muttered, confused. "The water is saturated with the tree's Mana..." He blinked. "How do I know that? Why does it matter?" He shrugged and reached for one of the fruit that was floating in the water.

It was just out of his reach and he realized he was becoming a bit off balance. Just as he made to move back, another fruit fell, hitting him flat on the back of the head.

"Whoa!" His eyes flew open and he fell into the water. He scrambled up and blinked several times to get the stuff out of his eyes. "Ugggh!" He moaned as he realized he was entirely covered in the stuff. He sighed as it all slowly dripped away from him. "Well gross." He ran a hand through his hair and blinked. It was totally dry. 'That stuff...how weird,' he shook his head and looked around. The air was cold, yet the thick liquid substance was warm. He lowered himself down to his neck and relaxed. It wasn't furo warm, but it was better than freezing.

The search parties had stopped for now, he still had no idea where Ryouga and Nabiki were, and he still had no idea where he was. His plans had been to turn into a girl, stumble into the village, and ask them where they were while claiming to be an officer of the Cerellius two who'd somehow survived falling out of the ship with a group of humans who'd snuck aboard some how. The sight of his male form added credence to that story, but apparently cold water was a hard thing to come by in a jungle.

'So I still have to find some water. I thought it'd be easy, but this...' He frowned into the glowing, green liquid. He absently grabbed one of the reddish fruit and bit into it. Recognition flooded over him and he looked at the fruit in his hand. "Ymir fruit?" He screwed up his face in confusion. "What's this doing here?" another one fell into the liquid with a splash. "Huh. Whatever." He finished the fruit completely and sighed, leaning back.

"What to do from here..." He looked around in boredom and his eyes stopped at the tree. At it's base was a massive hole that the roots went down into. He looked around, took a breath, and submerged his head. He swam over to it and investigated it. 'What the hell does this go to?' He blinked, rubbing his head under the water. It was obviously not natural; the shape was too perfect and there were no visible pot marks in the wall of it. He looked around again before swimming down into the hole.

Inside was something rather confusing.

The roots of the tree went along the entire enclosure. The glow from the liquid was bright enough that he could see without having to use his chi to make a light. None of this was too confusing.

The bottom of the 'shaft' turned into a corridor. The water filled it to the brim, and the other end of the corridor faded in the distance. 'What's this for, even?' The corridor was too long to swim through; a normal person would drown on the way. Ranma was a fast swimmer and could hold his breath far longer than the average person, but he still wasn't going to go into a corridor that could possibly end up lasting longer than him.

He shrugged and started swimming up. It had been an interesting but useless find. Suddenly, he snagged on one of the roots and blinked. He looked down at his foot in confusion. One of the roots had somehow snaked around it. He mentally sighed and tried to get it from out of the root, patiently. The root merely seemed to squeeze tighter. He frowned; this kind of stuff only usually happened when you panicked. He mentally sighed again, punching through it with a chi-enhanced fist. The root broke off easily, and he rolled his eyes as he started swimming up.

Another root shot out and grabbed him. He growled, momentarily surprised by the bubbles that came as a result, as he ripped that one off as well. Suddenly, tons of roots all shot out and grabbed him, pulling his flailing limbs in all directions. He struggled to get loose; tearing many of the roots apart only to have two more take its place. He started feeling lightheaded and immediately knew what was happening. He frowned; this wasn't how he'd imagined dying, but whom could he really blame for having dived into a suspicious green pool of water? He went limp and the roots responded by drawing away slightly. After a few seconds, they had completely left him alone. 'Self defense,' he realized as he started swimming up weakly. 'But it's too late. Dammit…' he couldn't find the energy to be upset as he felt the air leave his lungs in a great big bubble. He inhaled the heavy liquid and felt himself sinking.

Ten seconds later, he blinked in confusion and bent his head to look at his hands. He tested his fingers by flexing them and realized that yes: he was still alive. He shook his head and started swimming back up, this time careful not to agitate the roots. Once he made it to the surface, he exhaled the liquid bit by bit and inhaled some air, then stared down at his rippling reflection in confusion.

"What the hell?"

-

Ryouga looked down from the huge, colorful moon of this planet. Nabiki was shivering in the cold, and her breath was visible. Her teeth weren't chattering, but that was more from control on her part.

"Are you all right?" he asked the older girl.

"I'm freezing, lost on a planet with murderous elves in the middle of a forest or some such," she snapped. "Do you think I'm all right?"

"Sheesh, what can I do about it? Say 'sorry Ranma's evil twin decided to toss us into some survival game' or some such?"

"That's a start," she retorted.

"No way in hell," he said. "I'm not Saotome's scapegoat, and I'm definitely not that other guy's, either." He frowned at her as she continued to look angry with him. "It's not my fault we're out here. What the hell is your problem with me?" She merely glared at him in response and he shook his head. "We can't risk a fire, and you know why,"

"Besides being surrounded by trees and the like, yes, I know why," she said.

"That could be easily fixed, but yeah." He looked back up at the moon. "Hey, Nabiki," He said, suddenly. She looked at him with a raised brow before answering him.

"What?"

"Why is this planet's moon so much bigger than ours? And why the hell is it so colorful?" He asked. Nabiki rolled her eyes as she looked up.

"Why the hell would I know, Hibi…" Her jaw slowly fell slack with realization. Ryouga noticed she'd stopped and turned down to face her.

"What is it?"

"That's not a moon, Hibiki." She said. "That would explain the size."

"What is it?"

"That's a planet."

"A…planet." He looked up at it in confusion. Nabiki rolled her eyes, readying herself to explain to the martial artist what a planet was. "That's not possible." She blinked as she processed what he'd said.

"Yes it is," She said lowly.

"How? Wouldn't gravity make the two collide?"

"Usually, yes, or I think so, anyway; not too sure on that part. The fact remains that we're possibly thousands, maybe millions of years in the past, though, so who knows what kind of alien technology exists."

"Oh. I guess it's possible." He shook his head. "Still, amazing."

"Actually, that's not it, though." Ryouga finally registered her quiet voice and looked over at her. "Ryouga… that's not just any planet," she said wearily. "That's Earth." Ryouga's eyes shot back up to the planet and he tried to recognize it as so. "You can see Europe and Africa from here…I think those are clouds covering up the rest right now…" His eyes glazed over with recognition.

"If that's Earth…" Ryouga started.

"We're on the Moon."

-

Ranma walked along the corridor in awe. Since discovering he could breath the bright green substance that was almost water, he'd decided to investigate the corridor further. Minutes after he'd started breathing it in, the liquid became clear, as if it was air. His lungs were still getting used to the concept of something heavier than air, though.

"This is amazing," He tried saying. Of course, it didn't work; a vocal chord worked by producing vibrations in the air, and right now he was underwater with no air to speak of. He could hear himself, but the sound probably dissipated by the time it hit the ground. He leapt forward and was met with the resistance one would expect underwater. He swam a little bit, spinning around several times and easily doing things he might have had to strain to do otherwise. He realized then that the other end of the long round hall was finally in sight.

He swam towards it upside down, and looked around when he arrived. There was another shaft nearly identical to the one he had been in before, except this one had no roots. He swam up and eventually met air. He looked around and realized he was still in the shaft, surrounded by stones arranged in a brick like pattern. He looked up as he became accustomed to breathing in the gassy oxygen, rather than the heavy liquid. The pig-tailed boy looked up and noticed the stars in the distance.

"Is it that late?" He asked himself. "Hey, I think this is a well or something. Wonder why it would lead to that?" He looked around for something to grab onto, but to his disappointment, found nothing. The top of the well was too far to reach, and swimming back would be a pain. He looked around and quickly formulated a plan for which to get out. 'It's an enclosed space. The walls are close enough together for me to jump up from one to the next. Problem is, how do I get that much upwards momentum from water?'

An idea came to him and he looked down. The water was deep enough for him to get a swimming start – boosting his legs with chi and their natural strength would make getting up easy. He held his breath as he swam down to make things a little easier, and once he was far enough, started swimming up. He flew up from the water and instantly went to work, jumping from wall to wall. After nearly twenty seconds of that, he made it to the top and, panting, pulled himself over. He sat at the base of the well on the ground for a few minutes as he gathered himself.

"Huh," He said, as he stood up. "This is familiar…" He looked around and realized where he was. "Oh crap."

In the village.

Ranma stood up and hastily engaged the cloak of his father's sealed technique. It was true that he had 'sealed' the school, but right now it had a practical use that could end up saving his life, and the lives of whoever else could be saved. He found himself wondering just how everyone else was doing. Nabiki and Ryouga were safe; that was definite. The last they had seen of Kuno was on the ship, and while he was certain the older boy had also escaped, there was a chance…no, that was impossible. No one had been there when they'd left. That left…

Akane. She had been put in a deployment pod for sure. Kuno hadn't told them where the pods were all set to go, so for all he knew Akane was all alone in some possibly safe place on a strange planet and no knowledge of the people on it.

'Man, this is sucking more and more,' He found himself thinking as he took a few precautionary steps towards the village. For some reason, it was far less humid, and the vegetation around it wasn't as wild. There was a small manmade river that ran through it in most parts, though he couldn't see where either end led to at that point. He jumped into it, and sighed in relief as the change instantly overtook him. 'Now they won't jump at me with spears just from the sight of my hair,' She said as she climbed out of the water. She took her hair out of the pigtail ran her fingers through it a few times before moving it to the side of her head to cover her ears.

She dropped her cloak; after all, if she was going to use hear earlier alibi of looking for a criminal rather than actually being one, stealth was not the way to go. Instead, asking around if the natives had seen a human traipsing around in a stolen uniform would more likely yield positive results.

Ranma stopped at some steps and looked up at the building. It was fairly loud inside, and there was a sign right on the door that read 'pub'. She walked up the steps and pushed open the double doors, looking around. Only a few people glanced at her, and those that did immediately turned back to whatever they were doing. The room wasn't too well lit, but it still managed a cheery atmosphere, and Ranma could tell that only one or two tables had something alcoholic on it. The people continued talking as if she was not there, which was a good sign. She continued walking in and sat down at a stool.

"You look like hell," the bartender said conversationally. The platinum blond didn't look a day over eighteen, but his aura was incredibly… balanced for someone so young, even more so than her own.

"I know," she muttered.

"Hmm, what'll it be?"

"Actually, some plain water would be nice," she said. Seconds later she had a glass of water.

"So what brings a soldier like you out here? Field work?"

"Eh? Actually, I'm after someone." She said levelly.

"By yourself?" The man asked, raising a brow.

"Well, that's not how it was originally," she said defensively. "We were escorting him to the nearest city to have him prosecuted, but he escaped and took out most of my crew," she said. "He stole one of our uniforms thinking it might help, and left. I've been tracking him for days," She said stonily.

"So it's more a case of revenge now," the man said, calmly. "There was a human here who fit that description, but there was something incredibly odd about him. Although his Mana signature was unmistakably a human's, it was almost as if he wasn't there."

"That's definitely him," she said. "He's a spy, see, he has stealth techniques,"

"I didn't know the rebels were still actively trying to take on the Moon Kingdom,"

"Yeah, well… some people just don't know when to quit," she said. He rolled his eyes in agreement.

"Know what you mean. Those people are so stubborn,"

"Yeah. Now, onto the reason I came here," she said. "I need a run down of which direction he approached from, the direction he left in, and actually, it would help a lot knowing where _here_ is too," she said. "My geography isn't the greatest, so I really have no idea where I am," she said sheepishly.

"City girl at it's worst, eh?" the man smirked. He lost the grin after a few seconds and put a hand on his chin, with a nostalgic look about him. "Well, we don't really have a name for this place, but it's called Seima Reishin by others," he said, as if the name left a nasty taste in his mouth.

"O-oh?" She said, furrowing her brows as she focused on her glass of water. His face went grim at her reaction. 'Weird name, why is it Japanese, and…' He looked like he was about to say something, but Ranma started before he could. "Where have I heard that before?" she muttered to herself.

"Wha?" the man looked at her incredulously. "You really_ are_ bad with geography, aren't you? How'd you get out of the academy with such a deficit?"

"Hey!" She said, offended. The guy muttered something about beauty taking people too far these days and sighed.

"Listen, it's not that important. The guy you're after came from east of here and ran north when he left." He waved it off with a light smile.

"Okay, thanks," she said, standing up. "Say, which direction leads out of this place? After I beat the crap out of him, I still have to take him in alive, but I've been going around and around and I can't find anything but jungle."

"If you fly north, you should get there in a hour or so," he looked at her, worriedly. "Don't you know how to use a ship's navigator? Or better yet, shouldn't that be automatic?"

"Hey! Shut up already!" She said, blushing.

"Yeesh," He snickered at her loosely. "I'd hate to be your CO."

"Well nobody asked you!" She said indignantly as she stood up. "I'll be leaving now, thanks!" She walked out in a huff, seemingly ignoring the people around her. When she got outside, she heard some wisecracks made at hers and the bartender's expense. As she walked to the north, several thoughts were coursing through her head. '_Man_ was that lucky,' she thought to herself.

-

An hour later, She came to the campsite of Ryouga and Nabiki.

"Took you long enough, idiot." The fanged boy said angrily.

"Yeah, yeah," Ranma said, waving a hand. "You won't believe the things I've seen, though."

"Ranma, after the things I've seen you do, I think I can handle a few measly jungle mysteries,"

"Oh. Yeah." He frowned, before sitting down. "Well, there was this green stuff, right? It was glowing and…stuff. Anyway, I fell in, and drowned…"

"You drowned?"

"Yeah, got snagged in some tree roots. But it didn't matter, the water was breathable."

"The water…" He looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "That's it?"

"Well, yeah, I guess. Man, that wasn't too amazing after all, was it?" She laughed, rubbing her head. "Say, where's Nabiki?" Ryouga wordlessly pointed to a bunch of leaves. "You buried her?"

"She buried herself."

"Well, I suppose it would help retain some body heat," Ranma said, raising a brow. Ryouga merely shrugged. "Listen, those guys won't be coming after us tonight."

"Really? Why not?"

"They'll think I'm either dead or caught by someone else," Ranma said non-chalantly. 'And if not you can always be the mysterious prisoner. They couldn't really _see_ me when I was there earlier.' "Let's catch some shut-eye, 'kay?"

"If you say so, Saotome."

---

Akane lay unconscious inside the escape pod.

"Ugh…what happened?" She groaned as she came to. She slowly blinked open her eyes and looked around. Her eyes opened suddenly as she realized where she was. "Damn," she rubbed her head. Her vision was blurry and disoriented – everything was leaving a trail. When she was finally aware enough to do so, she surveyed her situation. The escape pod was wide enough for one person to lay in and comfortably move their hands to issue manual commands to the pod, and there was a monitor level with her eyes. "How the hell do I get out of here?" She sighed. "This isn't good at all." Her eyes scanned the characters on the display before her and she scanned it carefully. The translator Kuno had given her was interfacing with the pod's computer to make it report in Japanese.

"Okay… Everything seems to be in working order… I think…" She looked at the computer. "How do I input a command? I want to get out of here," she said. "Well first I want to know where I am, and where the others are…" The monitor gave her several readouts and responses. "Only this one launched?" her heart lurched. "D-does that mean I'm all alone? Uh, no other pods detected in the immediate vicinity…" the text scrolled down reading several more reports, but Akane could only sit there, empty.

"They… the others… they didn't make it?" The computer only continued it's noiseless scrolling of text and Akane felt the beginnings of tears in her eyes. There was a sudden beeping noise and she did her best to force back the liquid in her eyes as she focused on the screen before her. "…approaching the vessel… wait a minute, someone's coming?!" Her eyes widened with the implications of that. "How close are they? No less than thirty meters?! Augh, how am I supposed to get out and hide when they can see me doing it? Can you identify the life form? Is it hostile?" A face and profile appeared on the monitor, replacing all of the text. Her eyes slowly widened as she read the text on the file.

"Intent unknown. Target is within visible range of the vessel. How should I respond… Uh, what are the chances I will be able to peacefully negotiate with the person outside?" The chances read at 84. "Uh, I guess that's good enough. Open the door," she said. There was a loud burst of air as the pressurized vessel opened its hatch.

"Hello! Are you all right?" came a familiar voice. Akane stood up from within the vessel and looked around for the source of the voice. "Over here! Hey!" She turned and her eyes fell on a very familiar face.

Ranma was standing there in a white outfit of some sort. His hair was silver, extremely long and out of its pigtail, but it was definitely he.

"Excuse me, are you uninjured?" Ranma asked as he moved over to her.

"I…I'm fine," She said in a daze. "Ranma?" She muttered.

"Hmm? What's that?" The boy asked, confused.

"It's… you remind me of someone I know," She said. "I'm sorry, but could you tell me who you are? Or even, where I am?"

"Oh, of course, my apologies." The man took a step back and bowed deeply. When he stood up, he started talking again. "I am called Dai by my friends, and you are on Luna."

"Lu…Luna?" Akane mouthed. "You mean… the moon?"

"Luna is a moon, yes," He nodded.

"But…but…" she worked her mouth a few more times before her eyes promptly rolled back and she fainted.

"Oh dear," the silver haired boy said. "This isn't good." He spotted a device in her ear and frowned. "Maybe there's something wrong with her translator, yes?" He scratched his head and turned to face a random direction. "In any case, I should get back to Eliza." His eyes went back to the girl on the ground. "But I can't leave her here…" He sighed and hefted the girl over his shoulder before turning and running off.

---

Morning came swiftly for Ranma's group. Though the moon's daily cycle was far different from Earth's, Ryouga remembered something about artificial climate and time control that the Senshi used. Putting aside his question as to who or rather what the Senshi were, he stood up and stretched. Ranma was already sitting with a pile of fresh fruit as well as the remains of freshly eaten fruit beside him. Sometime during the morning, the heat and humidity had changed her back into a man.

"You were up earlier than me?" Ryouga asked.

"A little bit, yeah. I kinda learned the layout of this area, and it only took ten minutes to get up and get all of this."

"Ah." Ryouga looked at the pile of leaves, where Nabiki was still sleep. "When will it be safe to wake her?" the lost boy asked.

"I'm not sure. She's not exactly a morning person." They looked at each other.

"Say, Ranma," Ryouga started. "What do you think has happened to Kuno and Akane?" He asked.

"I… I'm not sure," Ranma said, simply. "I know they're both safe. That's certain. Kuno's stupidly tough and Akane's stupidly strong. We can assume that Kuno and Akane both made it to escape pods, and that Kuno would definitely send himself the same way as Akane. Heck, he probably sent the rest of us off course on purpose, the idiot."

"Hmm… he was acting strange for a little while when he screwed up, but the whole time he was insisting on your words, about teamwork. I dunno…"

"Meh," Ranma sighed. "I'm more worried about Akane. If he did split us up on purpose, then Kuno's stayin' on this planet when we escape, that's all there is to it," He snorted.

"I have no objections to that," Came a new voice. "He may be a cash cow, but if he did something that horrible, not even he can buy his way out of it. Especially since all he'd be able to give us would be potentially empty promises,"

"Hello Nabiki," Ranma said.

"And how long were you listening to that?"

"I've actually been trying to fall back asleep since Ranma woke me up a while ago, but you two just _won't _shut up now," she said as she sat up, brushing the leaves from her hair.

"You mean…" Ryoga looked at Ranma.

"Hm? I thought that was you who'd woken up when felt someone's breathing change…" Ranma muttered. "She woke up before you did," He snorted to the formerly lost boy.

"Her nerves are frayed, idiot. She'd have woken up if a raindrop fell forty miles away, I'm sure," He said.

"Oh really?" Ranma asked. He looked at the girl. "Your legs feeling better yet?"

"Yeah," She said offhandedly. "But for some reason I have this absolutely _pounding_ headache-"

"That's right," Ryoga said. "Ranma, what do you think of training Nabiki?"

"Ah, _yes,_ there we go-"

"Training Nabiki?" Ranma put some thought into it. "Five thousand an hour. Why?" he asked with an evil grin.

"Because she's volunteered to be our first real student," Ryoga announced. "Afterall, we're going to be traveling through this kind of wilderness who knows how long, the chances of us _not_ running into a life-death situation is slim to none."

"_Volunteered_?" Nabiki seethed, her face having gone pale from the prospect of owing Ranma and Ryoga money.

"I volunteered her," Ryoga amended.

"That counts," Ranma said cheerfully. "We can start whenever you like. Anyway, I do have something I need to show you guys," He said. "I found one yesterday, but I found another one this morning and think I can show you…" He said, standing up.

---

Yeah. Doesn't even meet my original target lengthwise, but if I don't upload this now, I'll explode, and that would not be favorable. Any glaring mistakes will be edited at a later(coughmuchlater) date. Thanks for reading.


	10. Eternity PT2

**Disclaimer**: the author of this story owns none of the series, characters, or locations mentioned in this story with the exceptions of the concept and/or image of Dai and Eliza.

Revisions will come in the far future

-----

Kuno filtered out along with the rest of the crew of the _Cerellius II_ into the city crowd, with his gaze cast towards the sky.

"Can you believe that? There were real live human spies onboard! Man, I've never been that close to the action before,"

"What could they have been doing onboard the Cerellius, anyway? It was like they just appeared out of nowhere, stayed the night, and left."

"What do you think, Kuno?"

"Huh?" Kuno asked as he looked down at his companions. One, a younger man, more of a boy, with bright crimson hair was looking at him excitedly. The other, a blond with his hair in a ponytail, was giving a rather impassive look. Kuno wasn't sure which one had asked the question.

"About the spies," The redhead said excitedly.

"Oh, _that_," Kuno laughed. "I don't believe that for a second. You know the guys on top, they'll do whatever it takes to make the crew work harder, even if it's lying about _human _spies being aboard the _Cerellius II_ of all things!"

"Yeah, but…" The redhead started. He huffed and frowned. "Neither of you is any fun at all," He crossed his arms.

"That's not true. We're just realistic," Kuno snorted. "Spies. _Human _spies. Can things _get_ any more fantastic than that?" He chuckled along with the blond.

"Next we'll be getting ambassadors from Jurai, am I right?" The blond snickered. The red head only blushed as he followed the other two.

---

As Ranma led his companions through the dense vegetation, Nabiki looked around, taking in the entire jungle. She'd never been in a jungle before, and most of the various plants were variations of things she might have seen in textbooks or something.

"So just what is it you're showing us, anyway?" She asked.

"Well, it's like I was saying last night," Ranma said as he glanced back at Ryoga.

"You mean that weird water stuff you were talking about, right?" Ryouga asked.

"Yeah," Ranma grunted in the affirmative as he turned to face forward. He stopped every few seconds and would sometimes make a slight change in direction. "It's just over here…" He parted some more vegetation and walked into a clearing with the other two just behind him. In the middle of the clearing was a tree that was situated over a huge pit. The roots were visible and the pit was filled with the light green water Ranma had seen the day before.

"I still don't know what this is," Nabiki said as she crossed her arms, unimpressed.

"That water is breathable," Ranma said simply. "I seem to remember it having something to do with mana, but that's it."

"Breathable?" Nabiki asked, raising an eyebrow in slight interest. Ryoga walked over to it slowly, knelt down and ran his finger through it. When he brought it up, it was completely dry. He stared at it in silence as he tried to figure out what it could be.

"Yeah," Ranma continued as he took a few more steps towards the tree. He started wading through the water and stopped when he was up to his waist. "Also, I feel some strange pull from down here…"

"Strange pull?" Ryoga asked.

"It's something that I know, but don't," Ranma said in a strained voice.

"That's all I seem to hear these days," Nabiki muttered. "Okay, so how does this help us?"

"What?"

"Just how does this get us any closer to finding Kuno and sis, getting that sword, and getting home?"

"I don't know…"

"She's right, Ranma," Ryoga said as he stood up. "This might be interesting, but we're on an alien pl… well, we're not on Earth. Things like this that we've never seen before are bound to show up."

"Well… yeah, but…"

"But nothing," Nabiki said. "We need to get back to those things. I'm sure that those… escape pods have _some_ form of computer. They might be able to tell us where-"

"Now wait a minute here," Ranma interrupted. "I said I had a feeling that there was something down here that might be able to help us. I'm not leaving until I check it out, and that's that." Nabiki sighed as the pig-tailed boy crossed his arms in defiance.

"Fine. We'll go back without you, and make progress on our own," She looked at Ryoga. "You do know the way back, right?"

"Err," Ryoga said, suddenly nervous and rubbing his head. "I…well I guess I could find where we were, but it'd be hard…"

"I know where it is," Ranma said. "But I'm not leaving until I know for sure what I feel down here isn't gonna help us." He turned and went deeper into the water. Nabiki's eye twitched at his response.

"Listen, you _idiot, _it's _your_ fault we're lost in this stupid jungle on the moon in the first place, I _really_ don't think you should do anything but try your hardest to get us home right now."

"My fault?" Ranma asked angrily. His brain reeled backwards, suddenly. 'Wait, did she say moon-'

"Whenever some wacko comes looking for revenge against you, everyone else gets caught up in it. I don't know your history with that weird copy of yours, but it's _your_ careless actions that brought me and my little sister here!"

"I seem to remember there being a reason we had to fly to Fukuoka. If _you_ had left me alone, then maybe the only person here right now _would_ be me!" Nabiki frowned at that.

'How'd he figure out-'

"Hey, hey, that's enough already!" Ryouga yelled. "You're _both_ to blame for _my_ being here, but it only makes sense!" The other two stared at him in confusion at his last statement. "Look; that guy sent Ranma, me, and Kuno to the past. Not just last century, and not to the beginning of time, but to a specific time period, and gave us a specific goal. The more I think about it, the more I think he made sure the five us were together on purpose." 'Kuno probably figured out some measure of his plan as well…' He took a few tentative steps into the water. "Now let's just get this over with so we can get the hell out of here!" The other two were silent for a while as he continued to make his way to the tree. Ranma finally glanced at Nabiki then shrugged and dived down into the water, with Ryoga in tow.

Nabiki stood there, with her arms crossed, waiting to see if they would come up. When neither did, she sighed and walked into the water. It was much warmer than she thought it would be, but cooler than the morning heat at the same time. She looked at it for a few moments before she slowly and completely herself. When she looked down she could see both Ranma and Ryoga smirking at her from under the water. There was a tunnel of sorts that went below the tree. It was littered with roots, but that was it. The boys swam down the shaft and she followed them, looking around as she took in her surroundings. She blew some bubbles and watched for a little bit as they slowly floated up.

When they reached the bottom of the shaft, there was another corridor. This one had a visibly slanted floor. Ranma looked around and nodded before he started swimming the length of the corridor. Nabiki blew some more bubbles as the air in her lungs started to become stale.

'If I drown down here, then there _will_ be a special place in hell for you, Ranma.' she thought as she followed the two. She closed her eyes , blew the last of the air out of her lungs and deeply inhaled the liquid. There was an odd feeling in her chest as the heavy material filled her lungs, but aside from that, she didn't feel any different. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times, then shook her head. 'Well, breathing underwater was bound to happen sometime,' she mentally sighed and followed the other two. Within minutes, the greenish haze of the water slowly vanished and she could see clearly. 'Huh, what is this stuff, anyway?' she thought as she did a little rotation in the water.

After what seemed to be around ten minutes at a moderate pace, they reached the end of the corridor and the three looked around. Ranma was looking up for some reason, but she could see anything in particular that would interest him. The ground, however… Nabiki slowly knelt down and noticed a hole barely wide enough to fit one person. She waved her hands and both Ryoga and Ranma went over to her. They looked down at the hole, then at each other. The three nodded and Ranma descended into the hole, followed by Ryoga. Nabiki followed the two and found that it didn't go nearly as far as the last one had, but it led to a corridor identical to the one they had been in initially.

'What the hell?' Nabiki wondered as she suddenly felt the gravity shift. She had come out of the hole head first, but was now… descending back towards the hole.

'This is definitely _not_ natural,' Ranma's voice echoed in her head.

'As if that long hallway wasn't clue enough?' Ryoga's voice accompanied it seconds later with an incredulous look on his face.

'Err, well…' Ranma rubbed his head. 'What I meant was that this is more artificial than I'd thought.' Nabiki looked back and forth between the two as she realized that neither was moving their mouths.

'Why am I hearing their thoughts?' She felt her own voice echo then, and her eyes widened. 'Wait, what?'

'It's probably the water, Ryoga 'said'. 'I do seem to remember something about mana having strange effects on humans.'

'How wonderful of you to remember something so potentially useful when we are already SUBMERGED in the stuff!'

'Hey, hey! It's not like I can control it!' He defended.

'Whatever. What do you guys think this is? Something like this _has_ to stick out in your memory,'

'You'd think so, but… I'm not sure.' Ranma responded.

'Really,' Nabiki shook her head. 'You're useless.'

'Whatever,' Ranma turned away, annoyed.

-

At the end of that corridor, there was another hole. It was above them this time, though- but taking the flipped gravity into account, it still technically led down. Ranma swam up through the passage, and was met by air this time. He exhaled the liquid and inhaled air as his two companions followed him out.

"Oh great, _another _hallway." Nabiki growled. The room was pitch black aside from where they were, as it lacked the glow from the water they were in before. There was enough light from the water that was in the tunnel for them to see the walls and their end of the hall. Ranma ignored her and looked around in annoyance; by this time he was starting to wonder if they had really gone down there for nothing.

"But it feels really strong now," He muttered.

"Ranma!" Ryoga's voice called out. He was standing behind them, looking at a strange device. Ranma smirked at Nabiki and then quickly ran over to join him. "Hey… wait a minute…" Ryouga said as he looked at it.

"What is it?" Ranma asked as he stopped and looked down at the device.

"The instructions… they're in Japanese!"

"Oh wow," Nabiki said flippantly as she walked up behind them. "Maybe we're in a studio after all."

"It says to push the buttons in the following sequence and then run… And it's written to Ranma. Apparently, _from_ Ranma," Ryoga said aloud.

"Well then, I guess this means we're on the right track after all, aren't we?" Ranma asked with no small amount of smugness in his voice.

"You should be careful. If that bastard set this here…" Ryoga started in warning.

"But wait." Nabiki spoke up. She rubbed a hand over the machine and a great amount of dust was cleared off. "It looks way too old to have been put here by that guy." She pointed out.

"He probably went further back on accident or something. Who knows?" Ranma held his hand over the device, and four holographic buttons appeared. There was red, blue, yellow, and green. He looked down at the carved text and studied it. "Red, blue, red, green, blue, yellow, red, green, green, yellow, blue, red." He pushed the buttons in that sequence and blinked as the buttons vanished in a flash, replaced by a turquoise ring.

The corridor suddenly lit up as he took the rings and a three dimensional, life-sized holographic picture of Ranma appeared between the three of them. They all jumped back in surprise as the Hologram turned his head around to look at the three. His hair was in a long ponytail rather than the usual pigtail, and he wore a strange black cloak that covered up almost his entire body. In his left hand was the large purple sword that they had been told to retrieve. He was similar in appearance to the fake, but while the fake had worn only a black bodysuit and wore a pigtail, this one had a cloak and a ponytail.

"Hey, you idiots. This is a recording. And no, I'm not that stupid fake. I'm actually him," Hologram Ranma said, pointing at the real flesh and blood version. "If you're wondering how that's possible, I'll just say that it's not easy to remember something you haven't done yet. Even though I'm future him, I went back in time and did this – as she guessed, long before now," He said. Nabiki and Ryoga nodded in understanding and the hologram turned to look at Ranma. "Don't worry if you don't get it, ask one of them to explain later." Ranma blushed and his friends laughed.

"At least you have a good sense of humor in the future," Ryoga remarked.

"Yes, well anyway," the hologram said, reminding them that he was still there, "These two rings are needed to use this," He held up the purple sword for them all to see. "And this is what you need to get home." He looked at Ranma again. "That other guy wasn't lying about anything he said before though. I can't remember his exact words, but it's true." He started walking in place and set two holographic versions of the rings onto the machine and walked back.

"This thing wasn't meant for long presentations, and I'm low on time. If you go north for three weeks at the same pace pops and I used on the last leg of our 'Extended Vacation', as it were, you'll find something that will help you find your goal. Don't skimp on her training for one moment, and since you laughed at me, I'm going to flush you out." There was an evil smirk on his face as they all tried to understand that. "See you guys later… way later. Oh, and don't freak out." He directed the last comment at Nabiki, and then vanished.

Suddenly, the corridor went dark again, and the gravity reversed once more, this time back to normal. And with that, they fell down, and Nabiki, the only one without super martial artist reflexes, landed in a crumpled heap as the other two flipped in time to land on their feet. They helped her up and there was the sudden loud sound of water splashing around them. They looked up in horror and saw that the hole that had been in the ground was now in the ceiling and green water was freely pouring from it in the gallons.

"All that water we swam through was held in place by the artificial gravity," Nabiki said in sudden realization. "Now there's nothing holding it there!" The water was building up quickly, and they scrambled to get away, down the corridor. There was the loud hum around them and suddenly, they were floating in the air – not from a sense of weightlessness, but because something from behind was blowing so much air at them that it made them fly forward. Ryoga glanced back and saw the deluge of greenish water rushing at them.

"This is all your fault, Ranm-"

-

Nabiki gagged and sputtered as she coughed up a bit of water and struggled to open her eyes. She groaned as she rubbed her head, but only managed to blink her eyes a few times. 'It hurts all over…' She thought. 'What the hell happened?' There was the loud noise of water splashing nearby.

"That was a rush," came a voice from nearby. "But don't ever ask me to do it again."

"Yeah, right…" came another voice. Nabiki groaned again as she continued trying to open her eyes.

"Hibiki… Saotome?" She called out. "Are we still alive?"

"She's awake," Nabiki heard Ryouga's voice and swelled with relief. They hadn't somehow gotten separated by the water after all.

"Ugh," She finally managed to open her eyes, and was rewarded with a bleary visage of the sky. Her eyes opened a little bit more as she realized that the sky was dark, alit with stars and the Earth, signaling the moon's night time. "How long was I out?"

"Not much longer than us, actually," Ranma's voice supplied. She knew even without seeing him that he was shrugging.

"Any idea how far away from the escape pods we are?"

"Well, the funny thing is…" Ranma started. "We're not even in that jungle anymore."

"What?" Nabiki blinked in confusion, sitting up. She shook her head to get the last vestiges of weakness out of it, and tried to take in their surroundings. The three were at the base of a raging waterfall that was responsible for mist and noise surrounding them. The area around them had trees, but they were different from the trees in the jungle. There was a calmer feel, and it lacked the feeling of danger. There was a path that led away from the base of the waterfall, as well as a crude, wooden signpost. Ranma and Ryoga were both sitting next to her, cross-legged. "So there are native people here too?" she asked in an exasperated tone as she gestured the sign.

"Yes, but…" She turned to face Ranma and waited for his response. The teen fidgeted a bit and she looked at him expectantly. "I don't think we'll have to worry about that," He said, as if resigned to some horrible fate.

"What?" She asked, confused. "Why not?"

"Well you see…" He started. "There is…well, it's…different…" He trailed off and Ryoga snorted.

"You're an alien now," the fanged boy supplied. Nabiki took a few seconds to process that and after repeating his words in her head a few times, an eyebrow rose in confusion.

"Huh?"

"Look at your hair," Ranma instructed. She did as he said, specifically by grabbing some of it and pulling it down for her own inspection.

It was pure white.

"What on Earth…" She started in a low voice.

"We're not on Earth," Ryoga reminded her.

"Don't nitpick," She snapped. She moved a hand back to her ear, and as she'd epected, it was more like that of the natives' ears, elongated and pointed, which she admitted reminded her of some fantasy creature more than an alien. "So I'm an Elf now. Wonderful." She sighed and let her hand fall to her lap. She glanced at both Ranma and Ryoga, but was disappointed by what she found. "So why am I the only one again?"

"Well…" Ranma started. "We're not sure. We had to double check to see if it was you in the first place…"

"Wait a minute," she started. "That water." She looked at Ryoga, "Didn't you say that the water affected humans in a strange way?"

"Well _yeah_ but nothing on this scale," the lost boy muttered.

"Well what were you expecting?"

"Well for one, the ability to breath under normal water was a common side effect for most of the humans we, er, used," He said, frowning at the memory.

"So what, now I'm elf-fish?"

"Eh?"

"I mean… Fish-elf?"

"Well, we don't know if it's something you can do, and it's not something you can test without putting yourself in a potentially lethal situation…"

"It might wear off, you never know," Ranma suggested, hoping to lift her spirits.

"Yeah, and you've invented the cure to Jusenkyo curses." Nabiki shook her head as she stood up. "Whatever. This isn't the weirdest thing that's happened to me."

"It's not?" Ranma asked in confusion. He couldn't remember the last time something like this had happened to her; she was usually watching from the sidelines, so when?

"The weirdest thing that's ever happened to me is being thrown back in time with you idiots," She reminded him. "Changing shape like this was normal in Nerima, remember? Actually, this is less weird than some of our friends," She continued, thinking of Taro. "I figured it was inevitable I would get caught up in this nonsense, but I'd always thought Akane would first…" She muttered.

"Oh. Right, well…" Ranma stood up. "I guess we should get going…"

"Eh?" Nabiki asked as she looked up.

"Well, now that we have these," Ranma patted the rings in his pocket, "We can start heading north. "Ranma gestured towards the sign. "According to this thing, North is in that exact direction, and a village might be on the way."

"It wouldn't be a bad idea to stay somewhere with a roof over our heads, but…why the heck do the natives of this planet live in villages?" She asked as they all started walking down the trail. Ryoga furrowed his brow in concentration, apparently trying to come up with an answer.

"Well, from what I can remember of Lunarian history, this people came from a very, very distant planet that had been apparently destroyed, in search of a new one. They used a magic comet or something to get here from there and landed on Earth. Eventually, humans scared them away and they used their comet's magic to terraform Luna and several other planets in this sector. The natives of Luna with the exception of those that live in the capital are unique because they retain the ways of those who originally came to this system. The others have all become more like humans in that they all live to further themselves, rather than to live in harmony with nature… the one trait they share, however, is their aversion to humans."

"Huh… how did humans scare people that advanced away? Do we even have the power to do that at this point?"

"Well…" Ryoga started, perplexed. "I'm not sure…"

"It wason't so much being afraid of them as it was getting tired of them. The humans were responsible for the destruction of the great Kharlan Tree, the tree of mana. Their wars used up an abhorrent amount of mana, killing of the original tree, and it wasn't until millennia later that a small group of humans and half humans, and one lunarian, working together, fixed the problem. The single lunarian who helped, however, had himself written out of history, because he considered himself different enough that he didn't want his help being credited to his race. The lunarians themselves weren't responsible for the problem, but they didn't try to fix the situation either when they could have, so they weren't exactly the saints the claimed to be, and his defection from them accentuated that. It could have turned out much worse, ending with the destruction of Earth and the end of both races."

The three walked in silence after Ranma's explanation. Nabiki was looking at the ground in wonder as she followed the two, trying to digest the history lesson. Ryoga was cocking his head to the side, apparently trying to match Ranma's explanation with his own memory. After a few minutes of this, he visibly gave up and continued walking in silence.

"Wait a minute," Nabiki started. "You said half humans. What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"They were… " The strain could be heard in Ranma's voice as he tried to remember what it was. "I can't… wait… Half human, Half lunarian. The races could mix…"

"Oh…"

After that exchange, the group walked in silence.

-

Ranma and Ryoga stopped in the fork in the road and looked up at another wooden sign.

"So there should be another village this way," Ranma pointed along one of the paths. "Go that way and rest for a little while. I'm gonna go in like I did before, see if there's an inn or something for us." Ryoga nodded and set off in the other direction. With nothing better to do, Nabiki followed. Ranma walked over to the stream that went along the side of the path, and splashed himself with water. She stood up and started walking in the direction of the village changing her posture and aura to the natural assertiveness and intimidation that she was sure most squadron captains maintained.

When she finally made it to the village, she was only acknowledged by a few people. She was gawked at by some of the children and adolescents, but most of the adults looked at her with false respect. She could practically see the immense distaste the people had for her, and sighed. 'I know they hate city elves, but this is ridiculous,' She thought. 'City elves… Wait, so then all of these aliens are called elves?' Ranma stopped and stared straight ahead as she had an epiphany. 'So the elves from magic and stuff are these guys. But, if human history has recorded their existence in the last thousand years, then that means they were doin stuff on Earth…' She filed that away for later and continued surveying the village.

There was no inn, but there was a building that had an emblem with a sword and a flask nailed onto one of its walls, and a miniature grocery that consisted of a single stall that had some fruits, vegetables, and fish. 'Weapons and general stuff,' she blinked and started over towards the only building that obviously wasn't a house. Ranma walked up the wooden stairs and into the open door of a weapon store. Once inside, she glanced around and agreed with what she found. 'Sabers for Ryoga, and a longsword for me. I'm not sure what kind of weapon would be best for Nabiki… Hey, wait a minute. We don't fight with weapons!… or do we?' She narrowed her eyes and looked up at the proprietor of the establishment.

"What's north of here?" She demanded. "Tell me everything you know." The teenaged looking red-haired elven-girl frowned at her crossed her arms.

"The least you can do is ask politely. It's bad enough you and your ilk have free reign over everyone else."

"Fine," Ranma rolled her eyes, not particularly trying to start any trouble. "Would you _please_ tell me of everything that you know happens to be north of here?" Her tone was pouring out the sarcasm in buckets. "Are there any other piles of twigs like this one laying around up there?" The other girl sighed and shook her head.

"I guess it was too much to ask…" She muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'Spoiled brats' under her voice. "Anyway, up north is some more forest… beyond that, there's the Youronme mountain…" The way she pronounced the word made Ranma blink as the other girl continued. 'It was like she was trying to say a Japanese word,' she blinked and started listening again. "…ons of wolves, and some other forest creatures… you might see some mandoraga if you go north… and can't forget the bears-"

"Bears?" Ranma asked with a frown. 'Why the hell are there bears and wolves and what not on the moon, again, or any animals aside from these elves?'

"Yeah, bears." The girl said with some mirth in her eyes. It was obvious that she delighted in the shock and displeasure on the apparent military woman's face. "You didn't think there were such dangerous animals that close to this place?"

"I forgot those kinds of animals were even on Luna," Ranma said, distraught. The other woman snorted.

"You didn't think we'd be able to make an artificial ecosystem without them, did you?"

"Well…I guess not," Ranma sighed.

"Just what are they teaching you people these days, anyway?" The elven maiden asked with a smirk. "You don't know anything other than your own glorified history, do you?"

"Listen, little girl," Ranma said with an edge. "I know far more about Luna, Earth, and even _Derris-Kharlan _than you could ever hope to know," The other girl scowled at her. "I'll take my leave of this place at once," She turned away and grabbed two sabers and a long sword on the way out.

"Hey! You can't take those!"

"You said there were bears and what not, right?" Ranma snorted, standing at the door.

"You have to pay for that!" The girl demanded.

"No I don't," Ranma said, walking again. And it was true – the queen's army didn't have to pay for anything that could be regarded as provisions, seeing as how most of their efforts went to keep Luna safe.

"Those took a lot of time to make, you know!"

"You think I care?" she returned as she made her way out of the store. She hadn't taken one step, however, as she suddenly remembered something. "Where can I find some clothes better suited for traveling around here? These uniforms were not made for keeping us warm at night." The girl behind the counter sighed.

"I usually have stuff like that on hand. But you won't get anything unless you pay for it." Ranma turned around and regarded the girl again before looking around the room. There was nothing like that on display.

'Probably keeps it behind the counter…' She sighed and walked over to the girl. "How about I pay with some information?" Ranma asked with a smirk.

"In…information?" The girl looked surprised. "W-what kind of information?"

"War is coming," Ranma said. "War that will likely destroy Luna for sometime. Only the royals know of it so far, thanks to the timegates, and it's only an inkling. But, there is nothing they can do. They haven't told anyone simply because they wish to avoid mass panic in a situation that, to them, has only a slight chance of happening."

"Wh-what?!" The girl asked incredulously. She blinked a few times and then glared at the red-head. "That's some tall-tale you've got there. But the entertainment value wasn't enough." Ranma stared at her, trying to read her.

'Well that didn't work. How can I convince her that it's true, though?' She sighed. 'Maybe I'll just have to use the Umisenken after all,' she though. 'Well then, it's decided.' Ranma smirked and looked up at the other woman as she vanished from sight. The girl looked around, confused.

"What the heck… Her life energy vanished!" She looked around. "Her magical signature is still nearby, though…" She frowned and looked around. "But, they don't train imperials to use life energy…" She muttered to her self as she looked around, trying to will the other girl back into existence.

'Mana Signature? Is that like a Chi Signature, then?' Ranma looked thoughtful as put on the dark brown cloak she'd found lying in the back room. 'I should learn to hide that, too…' She pulled the hood up and grabbed two more, stuffing them and a few sets of better clothing in her wrap. She calmly walked back out of the room as she started sorting through her energy. 'Chi…Reiatsu…Ah, Mana.' She frowned as she noticed something in her mana that seemed odd. 'Silver Millennium energy,' she told herself. 'But how do I know that?' She shook her head and tried to control the mana as she did her chi, but realized that Mana was more fluid in nature than her Chi. 'I'll have to try that later…' She hopped over the counter and re-materialized where she'd been standing.

"E-eh!?" The girl looked absolutely shocked. Ranma chuckled- she could understand why. When someone vanishes, and then re-appears with an entire sack-full of equipment, while wearing a new cloak, it could have that effect on you.

"Thanks for the threads," Ranma saluted her and was about to leave when the girl before her turned pale. "What? What is it?"

"M-majesty?" The girl asked in a low voice. Ranma blinked and noticed the other girl was looking at her forehead.

'What the hell is she lookin… Oh crap,' Ranma suddenly remembered the silver millennium energy she'd accidentally tapped earlier. 'The royal emblem is on my head, isn't it?' She mentally shook the shock off and went for the indifferent strategy. "What of it?"

"Is it true?" The girl asked. "We're… on the brink of war?"

"You think I'd lie about something like that?" Ranma asked. "The only planet that's not going to be blown to bits is Earth, by the way,"

"Figures," the elven girl said, looking down at her countertop in anger. "What are you doing all the way out here if it's true, milady?"

"I'm looking for a way to stop it," Ranma shrugged. "If I can't find one, then I'll be going back to the capital. My brother is doing the same, elsewhere," she said, frowning. 'What's with my memories all of a sudden?' "It will happen in at most a month. Could be tomorrow for all we know. Anyway," Ranma said, holding up the pack, "Thanks for all of this stuff. I only have two attendants with me, and none of us took into consideration the wilderness when we left." She turned away and briskly walked out of the establishment, leaving the confused elf behind.

"Wait!" Ranma sighed and turned around again. "Here, take this," The girl had gone from behind the counter and grabbed some kind of rolled up paper. Ranma adjusted the pack so that she could hold it with one hand and took the paper. "This is a map, up to the Youronme mountains. Be careful up there," She said.

"Thanks again," Ranma nodded in sincere gratitude, not having thought to take a map.

"Your story sounds so weird, but it can't be a lie," the girl said, her eyes flicking up to Ranma's head again.

"You can't tell anyone else, by the way. Mass panic and all that," Ranma said.

"Not even the other villagers?" The girl frowned. Ranma shook her head.

"In the off chance that we do find something to stop it, they'll be upset with you, since they'll never hear about it being averted because it was never really 'fact' in the first place. If they all die, they all die. It matters not either way."

"But…What about me?"

"I don't know," Ranma said, turning away. "Something about you… made me want to help you." 'And activated my memories for some odd reason, too…' "You probably have some great destiny or something." She said jokingly. The other girl took it seriously, however.

"What should I do?"

"Go to Earth. Exire should be a good enough spot for you."

"Exire?"

"Ask about it when you get to Earth. You should still be able to get there, especially since you can use mana."

"How will I get to Earth though?" the red head frowned.

"I don't know. That's up to you. I've got to go," Ranma said, turning away and leaping into the trees.

"Huh…" the elven girl said. She turned back to her shop and sighed. "Well, just last night I was wishing something fantastic like this would happen to me…" She walked back to her shop slowly, trying to formulate a plan.

-

Nabiki panted as she looked down at the ground. Her muscles ached with pains she hadn't known for years from disuse, and sweat was dripping down from various places on her body. Her uniform was soaked in the stuff, especially under her armpits and neck.

The moment they had stopped in a clearing large enough, Ryoga had attacked her. She had screamed at him for it for a few minutes, but when he only smirked and continued, she realized that it was finally time for the training start. She frowned at that part, and consciously tried to go back into the forms of anything goes that she had once known better than her younger sister. Her reflexes, though a little off from not being used for so long, were slowly coming back. Ryoga's more basic strikes were being somewhat sloppily redirected or blocked, and her own strikes had been coming more naturally. They'd been at it for nearly twenty minutes when Ryoga promptly told her that she was done and sat down.

Nabiki was slightly disgusted in herself. Years ago, she'd had the endurance to do much, much more than that. She had been the best of her three sisters at the art, with Kasumi as a close second. Nabiki and Kasumi both had the discipline that Akane had always and still lacked, but Kasumi was less willing to use violence against other people. Akane had been stronger than the two of them, but less skilled – she believed more in her own brute strength, and when Kasumi and Nabiki both stopped training, it was all she could do to build it up as their father stopped giving instruction. Akane was probably as _strong_ or _tough_ as Ranma had been when he'd first arrived, but was far, _far_ less skilled. Nabiki herself had been able to tell right away that the boy before them was stronger than even her when she was at her best, and had for a brief moment, wondered if she'd have gotten that good had she stayed with the art.

Now, in a situation where life and death began with fighting, she was practically useless. Her skill _was_ coming back, but it would be a few days before she was even close to her old level, and even then, when or if she managed to get back to her old form, she'd still be much weaker than both Ranma and Ryoga. They had never stopped training in the art, while she hadn't seriously trained in a long time.

'Daddy, you were a moron for letting us stop,' She thought as she moved into a sitting position, still trying to catch her breath. 'Then again, we never really were prepared for Ranma and all of his crap. No one would be.' Just then, a cloaked figure with a large wrap over their shoulder landed on the ground in front of her. Because of the cloak they wore and the large wrap hoisted over their shoulder, it reminded her of a medieval thief. Once she glanced the person's face, however, she recognized it instantly.

"Ranma?" Ranma set the wrap down and pulled her hood back, revealing her red hair. "You sure stole a lot. What is all of that stuff?"

"Equipment," Ranma shrugged. "Weapons, better clothes, etcetera."

"Right," Nabiki asked with a frown as she looked down at the stuff. "Is there a tutorial I can watch? How much of a defense bonus does the leather armor give?"

"Huh?" Ranma asked, bewildered.

"Nevermind," Nabiki sighed. 'Idiot…'

"Ranma," Ryoga's voice came from the side and they both looked up. "What happened in there? I felt your…" He trailed off.

"I don't know," Ranma replied honestly. "It was like someone else was doin' the talkin' in there, man." 'It was like that yesterday, too…' She thought. "Anyway, I got us some stuff." She pulled untied the wrap and it fell apart, revealing outfits similar to the natives' own clothing, the weapons, and two more cloaks.

"What's with the swords?" Nabiki asked. Ryoga frowned and took a hold of the two sabers.

"I fought with two like this." He stated. "I was as good as I am unarmed…"

"You guys?" She asked. Ranma picked up the long sword and looked at it. "What about me?"

"You can have this," He tossed the long sword at her.

"I don't know about this," Nabiki said as the sword landed in the dirt before her. She picked it up by the hilt and took it in. "What do we need it for anyway? We're all alone."

"Some idiot decided that they couldn't have a complete ecosystem if they didn't bring wild animals to Luna. I was told there were bears and wolves up the way," she shrugged.

"You can't have a complete ecosystem if you don't bring all the bugs and animals with you," Ryoga said.

"That would explain why a lot of the things here look like they're from Earth," Nabiki said with a frown.

"Huh?" Ranma asked, not quite following them.

"Don't worry about it. It's something you learn in school." Nabiki said with a wave of her hand. She blinked and looked at Ryoga. "Oh yeah, you never went to school, really, did you?" She asked. He shook his head.

"Rarely found the classes, and even then most of the times I did were random or when Ranma found me and led me to school. I always kept my text books with me, though. It gave me stuff to do when I was lost." He chuckled. "Some of the science experiments couldn't be done unless you were out in the wilderness, too, so some of it was fun." She blinked and nodded; it made sense.

"Right, then." She looked at Ranma. "I'm sure your father told you that doing something like that would be a waste of time,"

"No," Ranma said with a frown, annoyed that Ryoga was more 'booksmart' than her. "_I_ thought it would be a waste of time…" The other two snorted and she scowled at them. "What were you able to tell from her training, anyway?" Ranma changed the topic from herself to the other girl.

"Oh. She's better than Akane," Ryoga shrugged. "Just out of practice." Ranma whistled.

"I'd have never guessed. Do tell." As they launched into a long-winded commentary on her performance, Nabiki went through the pile of stuff for them. She soon found a map, and took it out, then unrolled it. There was something of a compass, that didn't look like one she'd ever seen before. The map itself wasn't too old – although it was hand drawn, and looked to have been copied from an older one. There were some symbols under some mountains up north that looked oddly like Kanji, but seemed to be a little different. 'That's weird. Why the hell would it be in Chinese symbols?' She shook her head and decided it was a coincidence.

"…and her rear guard was solid as well…"

She continued looking through some of the stuff and found some leather gloves and bracers, as well as a chest plate. What the hell were they expecting to fight off? Dragons? She paled at that as she realized that it wasn't impossible.

"…ggered some memories. Do you remember Reiatsu and Mana?" Nabiki finally turned back to look at the two.

"Reiatsu and Mana?" Ryoga asked. "Reiki is spirit pressure and Mana is magic." Ryoga said simply.

"Yeah, but I remembered something else. You can combine Chi and Reiatsu to get Chakra, and Mana with Chi makes…Wait, what do mana and chi make?" She asked, scratching her head. Ryoga looked confused too.

"I forgot what it's called too…"

"Okay," Nabiki started, calling their attention to herself. "I know about Chi, or Ki as some people call it, but Reiatsu? Mana?"

"Mana is the energy generated by supreme beings," Ryoga explained. "Gods and Goddesses have their own Mana. Yggdrasill and it's representation here on Earth generate Mana. Mortals can use the mana generated by Yggdrasill for spells."

"Wait, wait," Nabiki said. "Yggdrasill? You mean that tree of all in… uh, norse mythology?"

"You could call it that," Ryoga said with a chuckle. "It pretty much runs all of Earth, or Midgard as they called it."

"Ah…and how do you know this again?" Nabiki asked. She believed him – after all, they were all officially crazy at this point, so no point in not believing him, but it was hard to take in that kind of information as… fact.

"Emilio was something of a scholar, I think," Ranma frowned. "Anyway, Reiatsu, or Reiki as some people call it, is energy generated by the soul… and Chi or Ki as you know is the energy generated by just being alive, physical energy. You mix two of those three and you get something way better. Mix all three and you get Chaos energy."

"Oh." Nabiki looked back down to the items in her lap. "Are we going to keep going today, or what? I'm feeling a little better now." She asked. Ranma closed her mouth and frowned – although she had a few questions for Ryoga, it would be better if they outfitted themselves and went on their way. She could ask him later, after all. And it wasn't exactly impossible to talk while they were walking, either…

"Yeah," Ranma said. "Those gloves are for you- your hands don't have calluses so they will start hurting after a while if you don't use them."

"Why didn't you get yourself a sword?" Ryoga asked as he picked up a pair of bracers.

"I did. The long sword was for me. But Nabiki needs an edge against any animals we find."

"Then take one of these," Ryoga said, tossing her a saber. She nodded in thanks as she caught it by the hilt. Ryoga slid the bracers on and grabbed his cloak, putting it on and instantly reveling in the warmth. Nabiki was soon suited up as well, and Ranma wrapped anything left back up. The three pulled their hoods down and looked around.

"This feels like some sort of adventure game," Ryoga noted absently. Nabiki looked at him appreciatively.

"Yeah, I was wondering when the tutorial was going to start," Ryoga chuckled lightly at that. Ranma looked at them, confused.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?"

"In role playing or adventure games, there's usually a tutorial on how to play so the players don't die and stop playing right away," Ryoga explained.

"Oh." Ranma blinked. "I don't usually play those types." He said, remembering the Tendo's rarely used gaming system. "Too boring."

"Whatever," Ryoga said as he turned, his cloak flapping in the wind dramatically. "You just lack sophistication." He started walking and Ranma followed.

"Hey, that's not true! I'm sofi…sophisisticated!" Nabiki snickered as she followed their lead.

---

Akane groaned as she once again woke to a foreign world. Unlike the previous time, where she had been immediately face to face with a computer of some sort, she was greeted by the sight of stars and a familiar planet and the nearby sound of crackling flames. 'Earth?' she frowned as she recalled her current situation. Immediately, images came back to her – Being sent to the past, finding out that Ryoga was P-chan, being separated from her friends, and that silver haired Ranma look-alike. She sat up and looked around, taking in her environment. She was surrounded by trees in all directions, and in the center of the clearing she was lying in, there was a small fire crackling. A girl an extravagant silver gown and long red hair that was done in two ponytails was sitting on a log, gazing into the fire.

"Hello..?" Akane tested. Who was this person? Where was the silver haired boy who'd saved her?

"Oh?" The girl asked, turning to look at her. Akane froze as she realized the person's face was the same as Ranma's girl side. The girl smiled warmly at her, and continued speaking. "You're awake. Dai was getting worried about you." Her voice was an odd melodic sound that soothed Akane's tension, and the aura she had was pure and gentle, like her eldest sister's. Akane remembered then that Dai was the name of the silver boy, and she blinked, looking around. "Oh? Where is he right now?"

"He's gathering more firewood," The girl said. "You don't have to worry about him. He's a strong boy."

"Uhm… right…" Akane blinked again, slowly turning back to look at the red head. There were two ball shapes at the top of her ponytails, and Akane felt again that she'd seen the hairstyle before somewhere. "Anyway, who are you again?" The girl blinked awkwardly, just as Akane had done before and blushed.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I've forgotten my manners, haven't I? Forgive me," The Akane smiled back, still feeling put off by the situation. "I am called Eliza. I am Dai's sister. Might I ask your name?"

"Uh, my name is Akane," Akane said nervously. "Where am I?"

"Are you familiar with the various regions on Luna?" The girl asked. Akane shook her head to indicate that she was not. "I had assumed that would be true…you are half-lunarian, and for such people to be on Luna is considered taboo…" She sighed. "It is such an unnecessary law…"

"Half-Lunarian?" Akane asked, blinking. "What do you mean?"

"Did you not know?" The girl asked. "Your bloodline. One of your direct ancestors was a full blooded Lunarian."

"W-what?" Akane asked. "Direct ancestors? Lunarian? That's… That's impossible!" Eliza cocked her head to the side and studied the Japanese girl.

"How would it be impossible for you to be of a mixed heritage, might I ask?"

"Because there's no such thing as…" Akane frowned and tried to rephrase it. "There's no… Lunarians… where I'm from."

"But you are…" The girl insisted. "I can tell because of the unique mana fusion you produce that can only be found in those with Lunarian and Human heritage. It is very strong in you, meaning that one of your direct ancestors was a full blooded Lunarian." she explained.

"You must be mistaken this time," Akane said with a frown. "Neither of my parents are or were… Lunarian." Eliza noted the past tense used to refer to one or both of the girl's parents.

'I see…' She closed her eyes. "…You are right…I am mistaken. I apologize." Her voice was sincere, and Akane felt a little guilty for forcing someone like her into such a situation, but to insist something as crazy as Akane being Half Alien needed to be stopped right away. That was more like the kind of thing to happen to Ranma, anyway. Eliza opened her eyes again her face was set back into the genial smile from before. "So then, Akane, was it? May I ask you what it is you are doing here on Luna? Humans are prohibited from setting foot on Luna."

"We are?" Akane asked, confused. "Why? Or, wait, that's not important. But if we are, then what are you doing right now, letting me just sit here?"

"Well," the girl said, with a small laugh, "Dai and I aren't exactly in accordance with the law ourselves, right now, either. We wouldn't turn you in when it would only hurt us. That, and we don't believe in such outdated laws. Even our esteemed ancestor was against that law." She assured the other girl. Akane blinked at that.

"You're criminals?" She asked. "You're really nice for a pair of criminals…carrying me here and keeping me alive like this. But I've met weirder," Akane sighed.

"We're not criminals," The other girl laughed. "We're just… bending a few rules is all."

"Oh." Akane eyed the other girl warily. "What kind of rules?" It was the ones who didn't think they were doing anything wrong who were most dangerous.

"Ha ha…" The girl looked a little nervous as she thought of what to say. "Well we…"

"Are not staying under mother's watchful eyes," Came another voice. "Honestly, sister. Why don't you just tell her the truth? She doesn't seem to know much about Luna in the first place." They both turned to see the silver haired boy standing on the other side of the fire with his arms crossed and an exasperated look on her face. There was a pile of small logs sitting beside him. Akane noticed for the first time that there was a sword in a silver sheath hanging on his waist.

"But brother…I heard there were…you know…"

"They wouldn't send a half-ling," the silver one said, annoyed. "They hate them just as much, if not more, than our own foolish people do." Akane frowned in confusion at that. "She has most likely lived in isolation with her remaining parent and any siblings she has." He said, and Akane could detect the slightest amount of pity in his voice. She frowned even more.

"Oh…" The red head blinked at that, then looked at Akane apologetically again.

"What are you talking about?" Akane demanded. "Who are you people, really?"

"We're royalty," The silver one said casually. "Our mother doesn't want us to be out and about right now, with war on the horizon. We've been warned of human spies, and the most recent 'sighting' was on the one of our friend's personal research vessels."

"Eh?" Akane asked. Royalty? Well, they certainly could be. She had met several magical princes in her time – Herb, Saffron, Kirin, Touya… Two more, especially siblings that looked exactly like Ranma's girl and boy forms, was nothing short of par for the course. "That's cool, I guess."

"See?" The silver one chuckled. "She doesn't care."

"But…" The red head huffed and crossed her arms. "Hmph."

"So if you guys are royalty," Akane asked. "Why are you out here running around? Are you trying to explore the real world or something before the war comes?"

"I wish it were that only simple," Dai sighed. He walked over and joined his sister, sitting on the log. "We're looking for something that can help us stop this silly war, actually."

"Really?" Akane blinked. She looked into the fire, "What one thing could stop an entire war?" Although her previous experience told her that even though the siblings were dead serious, that it was probably something like a porno magazine, she felt a need to know.

"The Eternal Sword," Dai replied, as he reached down, grabbed a log, and then tossed it into the dying flames. It landed perfectly. "It has power over time and space." Akane froze at that and looked at the siblings. "With such a tool we can surely prevent this impending needless loss of life. However, we are on a time limit, and even as fast as we've been going, the mountain where it is rumored to sleep is still a long journey south of here."

"I…I see," Akane said. 'Power over time…' "Could you describe this 'Eternal Sword' for me?"

"Legends depict it as a great two handed sword, violet in color, with flashing lights in the center." Akane's eyes had widened as he ticked off each feature.

'That's… That's the sword we're looking for!' "Maybe I can help you find this Eternal Sword," Akane said. "But right now, I'm worried about my friends. Do you think they could be looking for me?"

"If they are, then they are far too late. We have ventured three sectors from where you were found. Back tracking at this point would put us off for too long."

"I understand," Akane said. These people were busy looking for a way to avert war, and they had a certain amount of time left. Asking them to back track was akin to asking them to abandon their people. And with that, they _were_ royals. Maybe, once the Eternal sword was found, they would be able to find Ranma and her sister? "Would you mind if I came with you?"

"Not at all. But it is a dangerous mission. Youronme is full of ancient beasts of which Lunarians have not seen the likes of which in thousands of years."

'Youronme..?' Akane thought.

"Akane? Is something the matter?" Eliza asked, looking at the other girl.

"Eh? Uh, no. But I just thought you guys should know, I'm a fighter. Where I come from, 'legendary beasts' are common." Dai chuckled at that.

"Is that so?" He asked. "What kind of spells do you prefer, then?"

"Spells?" Akane asked. "I fight hand to hand. I don't use magic." She said with a frown.

"Really?" The twins looked at her in surprise. "That's rare," Dai said. "Most people don't fight hand to hand. Either they fight with weapons of some sort, or magic. The Sailor Senshi are known for being masters at both." An image flashed in her mind and she blinked.

"That's right!" She looked at Eliza. "You remind me of Sailor Moon!" Both Dai and Eliza looked at her in surprise, then at each other.

"Sailor Moon..?" They both echoed. "There isn't…" They locked eyes for a moment in some sort of silent communication, and Akane blinked.

"Uh…" 'Did I say something wrong?'

"Where did you say you were from, again, girl?" Dai asked.

"I didn't." Akane said. "But I'm from Earth."

"I see…" The boy nodded. "I'm not sure what you're going on about, but there is no Sailor Moon. There is one for each of the other planets, excluding Earth. My sisters were both to be named the first of both in a year."

"Er…" Akane blinked at that.

"But that's something that only people closest to us know," Eliza said, turning to look at Akane with a sad frown. "Who are you, really?"

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"You said you were from Earth, but even their royalty does not know of that."

"Royalty?" Akane asked, even more confused. "Earth's royalty is mostly made up of…" Akane froze as she suddenly remembered something. 'Of course!' "Ah! I get it!" She said, loudly, startling both of them. "We're in the past, so Earth is still ruled mostly by monarchs and stuff! Of course!"

"The past?" Dai repeated. "What do you mean?"

"My friends and I came from the future. We were sent here by my fiance's evil twin, using that sword you're looking for. He told us that if we wanted to get back, we needed to find it and use it."

"Hmm…" The boy sighed. "Well, if you are to be believed, that would mean that its powers are legit…" Akane huffed and crossed her arms.

"Of course I'm telling the truth!"

"Hn…" Dai looked back at the fire and Akane sighed. 'Fiance's 'Evil twin', and she acts like it's completely normal. What an odd person.' "I suppose you can come with us, then. If you were sent to the past against your will, then you should be returned as soon as possible."

"I would have come even if you said no," Akane said, sounding a little irked. "When do we go, anyway? How long do nights last on the moon?"

"The artificial nights last as long as Earth's do," Eliza informed her. "So do the days. We're leaving in the morning."

"Oh." Akane blinked. "Well that's convenient." She joined them in watching the crackling fire. "Is it long before daybreak?"

"It shouldn't be." Dai responded.

---

Kuno sat in before a computer terminal with his newly made compact digital notebook. After settling in the capital, he'd used his clearance with Vladimir's name to construct an artificial file, and was going under the premise of being a military officer who'd been aboard the Cerellius II for security reasons, and was now back on duty. His position gave him the ability to freely walk about the palace, and he was using said ability in full. Once he'd constructed his false identity while on the research vessel, he had taken the remaining time before the vessel reached the capital to create a personal device, using the generous amount of supplies and materials in the storage to make something from scratch based on Vladimir's own latest personal design.

Vladimir himself had been a genius, outmatched only by a woman based out of the Juraian system, who went by the name of Washuu. The two had worked together before and considered each other colleagues. Washuu had even assisted him in the construction of his personal research station, the universally renowned _Cerellius II_, a station that was used to further the advancements of all in terms of science and mana. They had kept in close contact since it's completion, sharing research notes and theories of the universe. However, recently, within two Universal Standard Beta-Cycles (Which were roughly 43.7 Lunar/Earth days) she had mysteriously vanished. Unfortunately, news of her disappearance had been overshadowed by the news of the appearance of a new infamous space pirate. The Vladimir of now was the only one still looking for her at that point.

Kuno, however, was looking to bring the space age technology of this era back with him. He had been able to figure out what had happened and what needed to be done when his memory had kicked in, showing him a time when Vladimir was looking in on his records and spotting unauthorized data downloads. The subsequent memories showed him Ranma, Ryoga, an oddly transformed Nabiki and Akane, and himself in the past, although Vladimir had not known yet at the time who they were or why they were there.

Now, he was sitting in the Royal Library, and downloading as much information as he could, while skimming over it at the same time and making notes on what may or not be useful. His time on Luna had taught him much about the past and his previous incarnation, and the nature of what had happened. And then Kuno narrowed his eyes as he realized that he was not alone.

"You." Came a familiar voice. He turned around at a leisurely pace and gave the white haired woman standing in the doorway a lazy look. "Who are you, human?"

"Who are you, half-human?" He returned. She looked at him in shock. "Or rather, I know who you are, but why are you here?" She glared at that.

"I'm here to find out what you're doing here, fool. It's rather obvious. Are you some kind of spy?"

"Spy? Heavens no."

"The evidence points to something rather different. War on the horizon, humans sneaking aboard a research vessel to get from Earth to Luna…"

"I'm not here to play espionage with you," Kuno remarked lightly. "I'm gathering data for my own purposes."

"Right." She snorted. "What are those purposes? Where are your colleagues?"

"I am afraid I am unable to relinquish that information to you."

"Hmph. I thought so." She took a step back and several long eared aliens in uniforms stepped into the room around her. "Well we'll just have to force it out of you, won't we?"

"Heh." Kuno chuckled as he stood up. "Won't you?" His eyes flashed malevolently and he held up his hand and an elegant wooden sword appeared in his grip. "Try me."

And they did.

---

Ranma looked up at the Earth and surrounding stars as it floated over them.

"Can you remember any spells?" Ryoga asked. Ranma's head snapped back down to the fire, and with it, his two companions. They were resting at the foot of Youronme, and were going to start climbing the day after. It had been nearly three weeks since they'd started their journey north, and the only significant thing was that Nabiki seemed to have an aptitude at using Mana that neither of them did, and was nearly at the level Ranma had been when he first came to the Tendo's dojo. Of course, that wasn't even as good as Kuno was now, but it was still far better than she had been long ago.

They'd trained her awareness by attacking her randomly throughout the long trek, her speed by chasing after her while her hands were shackled together(and hitting her rather hard whenever they caught her), her strength by keeping her from eating until she managed to hit Ranma hard enough to cause real pain (Ryoga was just too much to ask for). Her toughness had been naturally raised throughout all of the training as she took hits from the both of them. All in all, she'd been run just as ragged as Ranma might have been during a typical three week period in Nerima. It was intense and they were all exhausted, but as Ryoga and Ranma convinced her, very worth it.

She hadn't learned any special techniques yet, but that was because neither of them really wanted to teach her their techniques. Ranma's speed and tactical thinking were his assets, and Ryoga's toughness and berserker abilities were his. The respective training methods, Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken and Bakusai Tenketsu would have helped her tremendously, but they honestly wanted to try and teach her something that would be hers and hers alone. They had both agreed to teach her the Shishi Hokudan, seeing as how they both knew it. Ranma wagered that she would make something out of a different emotion, like he had, though, once she knew the theory. But that was a long time down the road, as even at their accelerated pace, Ranma and Ryoga had been much stronger when they both learned the attack.

Unfortunately, they weren't the old ghoul, an over three hundred year old crone who could pull special techniques out of their asses and still have hundreds more to spare. They did, however, have their fragmented memories, and had at that point agreed to search their own memories in an attempt to find something that even the old crone wouldn't know of. After taking her mana manipulating abilities into consideration (probably due to her odd transformation, which was slowly fading), they had agreed to try and teach her magic, something their minds knew, but their human bodies couldn't do.

"The most basic one I can think of is Fireball. But she might be better with ice types." The two chuckled at that.

"So what should we teach her? Chaos spells or Mana spells?"

"Chaos is harder. Let's start of with the mana ones. Besides, I can't remember any spells other than Chaos' version of 'fireball' right now anyway." Ryoga nodded. Mana spells were what most people knew of as magic, but Chaos spells were much more powerful. The energy used to make it was the chaos energy that came as a combination of Chi, Reiatsu, and Mana, and as a result, was far stronger. The Chaos version of fireball was at least ten times as powerful as a normal fireball.

"Then, should we start off with Icicle?" Ranma shook his head at that with the suggestion.

"No. Too basic. She's already got some skill. Freeze Lancer should work, I think." Ryoga nodded his agreement and they both got to working out a way to teach her the spell…

-

Nabiki looked up at the fiery mountain before them. It was an incredibly tall mountain, reaching up into the sky past the clouds. From what she could see, it looked more like a volcano than a mountain, what with fire randomly bursting out of it in odd places, and molten lava coursing down the side. The mountain looked like it had a network of caves as well, and there was an opening at the base of the mountain that looked particularly inviting.

"So this is it? We have to climb this thing?"

"Looks like it," Ranma commented. "But it seems more like we should go inside that cave right ahead…"

"Fine. Just try to keep up," Nabiki said as she started walking. Ranma and Ryoga looked at each other and laughed at that.

-

"This is it?" Akane asked as she looked up at the desolate frozen mountain. There was a terrible wind blowing with the force of a hurricane higher up, and the sky was a dark blue near the top, cutting down the visibility as one got higher up. There was ice and snow at the base of the mountain, and Akane had to hug herself to keep warm. 'Ranma had a way of keeping warm in this kind of situation… I think he used his chi…' As she tried to figure out a way that might let her use her chi to that end, Dai responded.

"Yes. Youronme is a mountain of extremes. On this side, there is an icy hell. On the other, a fiery inferno. It is filled with other such opposites within the mountain, but these two are the most prominent and obvious." He started towards the mountain and Eliza followed behind.

"Oh." Akane blinked and moved to follow them.

-

Ranma walked into the cave and looked around. It was already hot where they were, and the only light in the cave came from the heat. The room they were in was a complete circle, with the entrance they had used, and no sign of another. There was a huge blue slab of rock on the opposite side of the room, and they all walked over to it. He smirked as he looked up at the huge flat slab of rock that was much different than the other rocks. Whereas most of the rocks in the cave they'd entered were white or black, this one was a light blue and someone had carved Japanese into it. He stood with his arms crossed, flanked by his companions, as he read it aloud.

"So you made it here. That's good, because there was a chance you were a Ranma who was supposed to die by now. Regardless, from here on you will not be able to turn back."

"Why the hell would we want to?" Ryoga asked, frowning.

"I'm getting to that, idiot," Ranma read. Ryoga glared at that particular section of text and Nabiki smirked. "Anyway, just to let you know, there's no certainty that you'll survive this. The multiverse exists in such a way that it's possible for me to go to one past, and do something that affects many other realities. In short, you guys could die while some alternate Ranma lives, or vice versa. Someone's going to die, anyway." Ranma frowned at that. "There should be more stones like this, but the hints I give from now on will not be quite as clear." The text stopped there and Nabiki and Ryoga turned to glare at Ranma. "Hey! I didn't write that!"

"Yet," Ryoga said.

"You heard him though. I had thought earlier upon seeing a 'Future' Ranma that we would all survive, but it looks like that's not true."

"So you think we might die?" Ranma asked with a snort. "Hmph, not us. I'm sorry, alternate Ranma, but I'm not gonna lose!"

"It's not like you're competing with him… er, you." Ryoga said.

"But it's easier to think of it that way." Ranma said.

"You're such a simpleton, Saotome." Nabiki sighed. "Let's go already." She turned and started looking around for a way to continue on. "Where do you suppose we should go from here?" She asked.

"Not sure. Maybe one of those 'hints' is in here," Ryoga said as he started walking around the room. Ranma shrugged and joined them in looking around. Soon, they found a blue rock hidden amongst several normal ones.

"It says 'BREAK'," Ranma commented. "What could that mean?"

"We break the rock," Ryoga said. "It's probably a triggering mechanism or something."

"That, or…" Nabiki narrowed her eyes.

"Did you come up with something?" Ranma asked, looking at Nabiki.

"That big one over there," Nabiki said, turning to the rock they'd read. "It's the same size, if not shape, of the cavern entrance." Ryoga and Ranma looked at her appreciatively.

"Well then, you know what to do, P-chan," Ranma said. Ryoga glared at him for a second before nodding and walking over to the rock.

With a tap, and a shout of "Bakusai Tenketsu!" the rock exploded, causing bluish dust to fill the air. There was a the sound of three somethings hitting the ground, and the heat intensified instantly, and once the dust cleared out they could see another room that was lit up with the orange light of heat.

"That works," Ranma said as he stepped through the large hole. He instantly stepped back. "Whoa, it's way hotter in there!" He turned to look back at his friends. "There's no way we'd survive in here for more than half an hour without melting or something."

"Is that so…" Nabiki looked at the ground, having remembered the clanging noise. There were three silver rings with blue stones in them, waiting to be picked up. She nodded. "It looks like we use these," She said, bending over and picking them up. She put one on, and instantly the great heat of the room before them was more like a warm summer day; not too hot, but still not the desirable temperature. Ranma frowned at it.

"I don't wear rings. 'S for girls."

"You're half girl, wear it or die," Ryoga said as he took one and put it on. Ranma grumbled something under his breath and snatched the last one from Nabiki.

"Fine, but you're bathing in BBQ sauce when we get back," He snapped. Ryoga paled at that, as he suddenly seemed to remember something. "What, porkchop?"

"Akane promised to cook him or something, remember?" Nabiki said, shrugging. "Whether or not he gets back, he's still dead meat."

"O-oh yeah." Ranma stuttered, turning back to his rival. "Uh, sorry man."

"Forget it," Ryoga said darkly. "Don't let my problems trouble you."

"Okay," Ranma said, sounding normal. "Let's go!" He turned and ran into the other room and sprinted off.

"Hey! Wait up, you moron! You could trigger a trap or something!" Nabiki called out. She glanced over at her remaining companion and sighed. "Listen, I'll put in a good word for you. You can consider it payment for the training," She smirked.

"Really?" Ryoga asked. "But I don't deserve it…"

"You don't, but I'm a woman of morals when it comes to money," She winked. Ryoga snorted at that. "And Akane probably wouldn't really kill you anyway. She'd probably just hate you more than she does Ranma, or at least pretends to. I think she likes that kind of attention." Ryoga's face went blank at that as he considered that. Akane, appreciating people going to great lengths to see her in that fashion?

"Huh?"

"Anyway, she's a sixteen year old girl, Ryoga, not a cold-blooded murderer." Nabiki said, exasperatedly. "She doesn't have it in her to kill someone. Honestly…" She walked off, following their self-elected leader.

-

"Hmm," Dai looked over the roc that blocked their entrance into the cave. "It has the royal insignia on it." He said, gesturing towards the crescent. "But how can we prove our heritage to a rock?" Eliza walked over to it and put her hand on it.

"It's…" The royal emblem started glowing and the boulder crumbled into smaller pieces. "…cold." She blinked.

"Well that was relatively simple," Akane noted as she walked past them into the cave. Dai and Eliza followed her, looking around.

"This is certainly different," Dai said as he looked around the room. The icy interior was incredibly tall, and the ceiling was at least ten stories high. There were several bridges of ice above them, connecting paths that led from large holes in the walls. The room was a large network of caves with a hollow center, and bridges of ice to fill in some of the gaps between caves. Akane noticed a strange technological device in the center of the room, and walked over to it. It was a large, four sided construct with a blue circular panel on top.

"What is this?" Akane asked.

"It's a holographic display," Dai said, walking over to it. "What could it be for, though?"

"Perhaps someone left a recording," Eliza commented as she joined them. "There should be some way to activate it." They all looked around the device for some way to activate it.

"Maybe if you touch it like the rock," Akane suggested. Dai tried that, but nothing happened, and they continued searching for some other kind of trigger. Soon, they began to move away from the device, looking at the cave walls. Soon, Akane found another crescent moon symbol painted on a wall, and she blinked. "Hey, I found something!" she called out. The twins moved over to join her.

"It might react the same way," Dai noted. Eliza nodded and touched the symbol. It slowly vanished, and they heard a humming sound coming from the device in the center of the room. "That seems to have done it." He said. They turned around and started walking towards the device, but Dai stopped, holding his arm up to signify that they stop as well. Both girls did, and they all jumped back just as five shapes crashed down on the ground before them, from the ceiling. Akane's eyes widened as she looked at them. "The beasts have awakened as well, it seems," Dai said grimly. He unsheathed the regal sword attached to his hip and held it up with one hand, with an arm out to cover both girls.

The wolves, which Akane could now recognize as such, were blue in color, with several shards of ice sticking to their fur. They had sharp fangs and saliva was dripping from their jowls. They growled menacingly, but Akane steeled herself. No way was some stupid overgrown dog going to keep her from finding a way to get back home!

"I don't suppose they would like to negotiate the terms of our stay," Eliza said, worried. Akane looked over at the red head, who seemed to have a resigned look about her. "I hate to hurt innocent creatures,"

"But they don't look too put off on mauling us," Akane reminded her. Dai chuckled at that.

"She's right. We must engage them." At some unheard signal, Dai and Akane lunged at the wolves, while Eliza stepped back and started chanting something under her breath. Akane wondered for a moment what the other girl was doing when she remembered how Dai had told her how they fought.

'Magic… I wonder what kind it is?' She punched one of the wolves that had attacked her in its face, then kicked it aside. Her skills may not have been near Ranma's level, but she was still good enough to take out a few wolves. 'If this is all there is to worry about, then their standards for legendary beasts aren't quite so high,' She thought. Suddenly, one of the wolves jumped into the air and started spinning at a great speed. With the buzz saw motion it made, it flew at Akane. She barely dodged in time to see it impact the ground. "What kind of wolf is that?!"

"A spawn of Fenrir," Dai told her impassively. "They're not quite as strong as the real thing, and aren't really it's spawn, but they have numbers on us right now."

"Uh, okay," Akane responded intelligently as she dodged another wolf. She countered it by punching it in the side, and the thing yelped as it flew at least two meters away. Dai had dealt several sword wounds by that time, but the wolves still attacked. One of them almost managed to bite Akane's arm as it leapt up at her, but she was faster and had punched it's front teeth in by the time it was close enough to hurt her. It fell back, whining pathetically, as it rolled around in pain. Several of the other wolves had decided at that point to focus solely on her, meaning that she now had three of them attacking her. She dodged reflexively, somehow feeling more comfortable with the bigger number of attackers.

"Get back!" Eliza's voice suddenly called out. Dai didn't waste time pulling back, and Akane decided to follow his example. She channeled a great deal of chi into her legs and leapt away, clearing a good amount of distance. "Explode!" The other girl's voice called out the name of her spell. Nothing happened, and the wolves made to attack again, but soon, Akane saw a red shadow on the ground. She quickly looked up and saw a flaming projectile incoming from above. It bore great resemblance to a rocket in its shape, but it was clearly made up of nothing but flames. The projectile connected with one of the wolves before they could react, and the resulting explosion engulfed four of the five wolves they'd attacked. When the magical flames died down seconds later, there was nothing visible except for the impact crater.

Akane's jaw dropped at the sheer effect of the spell. It was about as devastating as one of Ryouga or Ranma's attacks in terms of size, but far more lethal. The monsters had to have been incinerated!

"They're ice spirits," Dai suddenly said. "The heat had an adverse effect on their chemical make up. It is a devastating spell, no doubt, but it would not have done as much damage against something not ice-related," he explained. Akane nodded. So because of the type of spell, and the type of enemy, it had an attack bonus or something. Still, she'd still love to learn something from them! Maybe then she could get Ranma to acknowledge her!

But there was no time for asking, as the last wolf, the one whose front teeth she'd punched in, she noticed, was back on its feet and watching them. Even though it was now alone before their obvious strength, it still wanted to fight them? She'd thought wild animals had more common sense than that.

But suddenly, the wolf made it's way over to Eliza, and in two quick bounds was within striking distance. The spell-caster shrieked as it leapt up, jaws agape, ready to rend her flesh with what was left of it's razor sharp teeth. But instead, it bit down on cold hard steel. Dai shook his sword a few times, disorienting it, and it let go. He then jumped back and swung out his sword in an arc that would not have ever connected. "Demon God Sword!" He called out as his sword completed its arc. A wave of blue energy appeared and moved at incredible speeds before slicing through the beast. The two halves split apart, before dissolving into air vapor. Akane gasped at that.

"You're… you're both incredibly strong," She said. "That was amazing." 'These guys might be able to give Ranma and Ryouga a run for their money,' She thought, feeling interested for a brief moment on how such a fight would go.

"The device is moving," Dai noted suddenly. He started walking over to it and Akane frowned at the back of his head.

"You were doing nicely as well," Eliza mentioned. "You handled that other one quite well."

"But I didn't deal any finishing strikes," Akane said, giving a mirthless laugh. "I'm not so great."

"Don't worry about it. You obviously still have a great respect for life. It is despairingly rare to find such in most fighters. You seem to be well trained, but you do not appear to have ever taken a life…"

"It's in the martial arts code of honor," Akane said as the two made to follow Dai. "We never kill, not unless the situation is particularly demanding. Thankfully, I haven't ever found myself in one of those. Say, do you think you could teach me some of that magic stuff, though? And the technique that Dai used looked pretty impressive."

"That was a simple technique, although the spell I used was very advanced," Eliza said. "I would teach you magic, but…" She bit her lip and seemed to be debating something. "Humans… can not do magic very well or at all, unless they are using Aionis or something similar… and even then, they can not advance past mid level spells without an Exsphere or Derris Crystal."

"Really? Where can I find this Aionis stuff? And those other things you mentioned?" Akane asked.

"It's so incredibly rare that it's thought to be only a legend, but our family has several millimeters of it on hand. The others are no longer in production, and only a few are left on hand. The process needed to make them is… inhumane, to say the least."

"Oh… then does that mean I can't use it?" Akane doubted a royal family would want to give some random peasant, _especially _one that was forbidden from being on their…moon? Anyway, it was unlikely.

"That's the thing… I mentioned that mana fusion you have earlier that confused me into thinking you may have been half lunarian," Eliza started. "I'm not sure, but I think you may be able to learn better than most humans because of it." Before Akane could respond however, Dai spoke up.

"Sister, it seems we must both have physical contact with this device to work now that it is activated," He intoned.

"Coming, brother," She responded. She walked to stand next to him, and they both put their hands on it. The blue panel on top lit up with blue light and soon a hologram of a regal looking silver haired man appeared. Akane noted immediately that his ears were elongated like that of the two siblings before her.

"Greetings, descendants of mine, and traveler from another time. I am the one you and only your line knows of as Pallas Sage. This is a recording left to be found specifically by you." The two siblings glanced back at Akane with incredulous looks, but Akane could only stare at the visage of Pallas. "I know of the weapon that you seek. Having personally known its First, Second and Third wielders, I have been given a great deal of insight into its nature. With this insight, I was able to construct a similar device myself, and that is what you now know of as the Gates of Time." The twins gawked at that, and Akane, who'd recovered and not knowing the significance of his last statement, snickered, thinking that the look was definitely foreign on both of their faces.

"He really is… a master of science and magic…" Dai muttered, awed.

"I know of the reasons you seek this blade, and I have no doubt that you can pass the tests I have designed in order to obtain it. The fourth and fifth wielders of this blade are both in this mountain, and you need only to obtain it. That does not mean that the three of you will not face hardships in your quest to obtain it. In this mountain of extremes, you will find the first half of this sword, known as the Vorpal Sword. You will not be able to wield the Eternal Sword without the Diamond Ring that is passed down through our family, but the Vorpal Sword will serve you well until that time comes." Dai and Eliza both nodded at that, apparently having expected it.

"There will be some enemies in this place, and some long lost friends as well." The hologram pointedly looked at Akane at that point. "That is all that I can impart to you at this time. I wish you well, my descended." The hologram quickly vanished, but the construct continued to glow.

"What's it doing now?" Akane asked, confused. Wasn't the message done?

"Come quickly, and touch it however you can," Dai said suddenly as he and his sister did just that. Akane blinked as she put her hand on it as instructed. There was a sudden feeling of relief washing over her, and aches and pains that she hadn't known were even there were gone before she could even release the device. Any and all fatigue that had been in her was now completely and totally washed away. Her muscles were brimming with energy, and she felt like she could go a hundred rounds with all of Nerima and still have energy to spare. She felt… refreshed.

"What the heck was that?"

"Refresher," Eliza supplied. Akane blinked several times at the device as the glow started dying down. "If you hadn't touched it by now, it wouldn't have done anything. It seems to be of one time usage."

"Wow," Was all Akane could say. 'Such amazing technology…' Dai chuckled.

"I suppose we should move on. He did say your friends are here in this mountain, did he not?" Dai said. Akane smiled.

"That's right! I was worried they wouldn't find the place, but they're on the right track too,"

"Then let's go," Eliza suggested with a radiant smile. Akane and Dai both nodded, with smiles. Akane noticed the normally stoic teen's happiness and wondered if Pallas had said something to make him feel that way.

"Yes, let's," Dai said. 'Finally, we will have the means to stop that foolish war,' He turned and walked for the nearest cave, preparing for the initial journey that would take them from the bottom to the top, where undoubtedly the true entrance was waiting.

-

Ranma, Nabiki, and Ryouga ran up the red stone stairs, their destination in sight. The room had led to some an impressive set of stairs, and all three knew now that they were deep into the mountain, and that it would only get immensely harder from there. One they reached the top, they slowed down to an almost immediate stop. The room they were in was large, incredibly large, in that they could not see the opposite end. The ceiling stretched high up as well, and the next thing they noticed was the huge obstacle course that seemed to take up the whole room. That and molten lava seemed to be all around them in the room, surrounding their platform, and under the obstacle course up ahead.

"What the hell," Ranma thought angrily. "Why would I do something like this?"

"Because you're an asshole," Ryouga grumbled. "An even bigger one than that fake of you." Ranma didn't bother mentioning that he would probably have merged with that 'fake' by the time he was good enough to make something like this, knowing that it wouldn't help at all. Instead, he opted for an optimistic approach.

"Well then, let's get going! The most that can happen is that we fall into the lava and die a morbid, flaming death," He said. Nabiki groaned at that, but Ryouga seemed un-moved.

"We'd burn up instantly before we even touched the lava if it wasn't for these rings," Ryouga said. "I've been in volcanoes before, and dropped my entire traveling pack once. There was not even ash left to even touch the magma when it would have hit. These things might make such a death ironically more painful if we did fall." Nabiki and Ranma both gulped at that. Ryouga had said _volcanoes_ being plural. He had experience, and with it, confidence, that they did not.

"Let's just hurry up and get out of here," Nabiki said, annoyed.

"Okay," Ranma nodded, looking around the room for a place to start on the obstacle course. There was a large tower with a rope over the side, apparently meant to be climbed, but the edge of the rope was at least four meters away from the ground.. Ranma nodded, and moved to do just so when a huge centipede like creature suddenly jumped out of the nearby lava. It had no eyes to speak of, but its mouth was a huge three-pronged pincer that took up all of it's face. He jumped back in surprise as the thing slowly made its way towards them, its mouth snapping and making squeaking noises at them. The thing was all black, red in some places where lava was still dripping off of it.

"Holy crap!" Ranma looked at it. "Did it just come out of the lava?"

"It did," Ryouga remarked, as if talking about the weather.

"Let me try this one," Nabiki smirked as she held up one of her hands in the direction of the creature. A blue aura sprung up around her, and a large magic circle appeared on the ground below her. The two nodded and stood back as she started reciting the words from their ancient language that Ryouga and Ranma had her memorize. When it was done, she smirked and called out the name of her spell. The room went dark, with glowing from the impending mana usage. A blue rune appeared in the air where her extended hand was. "Freeze Lancer!"

With that, a nearly transparent blue portal opened up in front of her. Razor Sharp Icicles shot out from it at incredible speed, and most of them glanced off of it's hardened exo-skeleton, but it snapped it's jaws at just the right moment, and one of the managed to enter it's gaping maw, cutting through the exposed tissue. It's squeaking reached a new volume as the thing started writhing around flopping around maniacally, before it fell back into the lava. Nabiki smirked, feeling quite pleased with her self.

"That was great," Ranma said enthusiastically. "Only the second time you've used it and you hit it dead on!"

"What did you expect from the one they call 'Queen of Ice', Ranma?" Ranma could only smirk at that.

"It was more the work of your genius teacher,"

"Teachers," Ryouga corrected. "And that did work out nicely. It didn't look like it would work at first, but something unexpected happened and you got it. But let's not waste any time here." The other two nodded at that and followed his lead. Ranma glanced at the lava again, but with no sign of the monster making a return, he leapt up to the rope and started climbing up. Being at the pinnacle of strength that he was, it was an easy feat. It proved just as easy for Ryouga, but when it came time for Nabiki to clear the height, she looked nervous for a moment. After an apparent mental debate, she took a few steps back and made a running jump, just barely able to grab onto the rope.

She smirked at her personal achievement and started climbing up, using the rope as a grip as she walked up the side of the tower. Once she got there, she noticed the ground was a metal grating with diamond shaped holes all though it. The path that lead away had a slight upwards slope to it, and was suspended. The end of the metal path was visible, and beyond it were three floating platforms, one higher than the other, that lead to another path. She paled as she realized she'd have to jump from one to the other. Ranma and Ryoga were already walking across the path towards the platforms.

Nabiki steeled herself and followed them, watching as when they finally reached the platforms, the two boys easily leapt up, landing on the next one, and then higher again to the one after that, before finally landing on the second railing. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists, biting down on her lip as sweat poured down her face. With a great shout, opened her eyes and leapt up to the first platform. Not wanting to break her literally upward momentum, she continued and soon was on the same platform as Ranma and Ryouga. She noticed them and they nodded at her before continuing on.

At the end of the second path, there was a long gap from the path to another platform and several more ropes descending from the ceiling. Nabiki quickly guessed that they'd have to jump from one rope to the next, and since a few of them were shorter than several others, have to climb up and down the ropes midway. They all nodded at eachother again and Ranma went first, clearing five ropes in one jump, and just barely catching onto the end of the one he'd aimed at. He swung forward with great velocity, and the rope curved upwards as it neared it's apex. He let go at just the right moment, sending himself soaring into the next one five ropes down, repeating the process only two more times before he had reached the end.

Both Nabiki and Ryoga decided to go the traditional way across, one rope at a time. Their crossing wasn't nearly as spectacular, but Nabiki decided that now wasn't the greatest time to show off her 'new' skills. They made it to the end soon enough, where Ranma was waiting impatiently. Once they were all there, they all walked over to the end of the metal path, finding a fist sized blue stone waiting for them at the end. It read "SPEED", but everyone present looked at it in confusion.

"Any ideas?" Ranma asked, as he looked around. There wasn't anything he could see that would have warranted using 'speed'. If anything, everything around them warranted the absolute lack of such.

"No," Ryoga said, likewise stumped.

"Over there," Nabiki said, pointing below them. There was a small flat surface jutting out of the wall, large enough for them to land on if they jumped off. But it was so far below that if they did jump off, they wouldn't be able to get back up. The thing about it, though, was the fact that there was a trail that led

"We should look around for something else first," And that they did, but they were not able to see anything around them that obviously demanded speed.

"What should we do once we get there?" Ranma asked.

"We'll just have to see," Nabiki said. "If not, we'll figure out how to keep going." The two boys nodded and they all jumped down to the cliff. Once they were there, however, a blue arrow lit up on the ground, pointing at the wall. Another one lit up, in the direction the first was pointing. It was halfway on the ground and the wall. The one that appeared after that was on the wall, and it was the last to appear. Nabiki suddenly lit up in realization. "We have to run up the wall in that direction," she said, pointing at the wall. They looked up and away, and sure enough, there was a metal platform jutting out the side of the wall a while away in the direction she'd pointed. "How are we going to do that? We're not that fast." she frowned.

"We are," Ryoga said suddenly. "But you're not. You'll have to hold on to one of us as we go across." She choked at that.

"Excuse me?"

"There's no time to waste," Ryoga continued. "Pick. Me, or Ranma?"

"…Ranma," She sighed. There really was no way out of it, was there?

"Okay then," Ryouga said. He turned around and focused on the wall and his destination before he suddenly launched at the wall. He ran diagonally across and up the wall, stopping at the metal platform. Ranma quickly picked up Nabiki, who didn't have a second to protest, and followed. Ranma set her down and they continued on.

-

Akane blanched as she looked over the final bridge of ice they were on. It had a ridiculous slope, making her think that any misstep could cause her to slip and fall. The bridge had no railings or barriers, and curved in several places, so she wouldn't just slide back to the beginning to the bridge, but right off the side. The slope was needed, however, as the only way out besides the one so far below was a wide hole in the ceiling that led to another tall room. The bridge ended just under the hole.

"Eliza, hold on," Dai commanded. His sister nodded and grabbed on to him, and he her. He glanced at Akane, who nodded, and they both jumped up through the hole. The moment they cleared it, two thick metal sheets shut below them, in the hole, the only audible sound a soft hum as the electrical device activated. It had been a door? Akane blinked at it as they all landed on the now shut door. Dai set his passenger down as well, and the two walked away. Akane quickly moved to follow them, looking around. The room they were in now had several visible obstacles to cross; several rocks jutting out of a nearby stretch of wall, and straight above them was a floating platform. Dai immediately set to climbing the rocks, and both of the girls soon followed.

One to the top of the rocks, Dai climbed up and over, before standing on a cliff. He turned around and noticed the girls lagging behind a little bit, then looked around. The next thing to do was get on the floating platform, and on the other side of the platform he could see another path. This one, thankfully, had an icy railing as well to keep them from falling off. Once his sister and their new friend made it to the top, he hopped over to the floating platform and they both followed. They all started over towards the path, but the platform they were on started tipping in their direction.

"What?" Dai looked around as he tried to keep his balance. The platform dipped and they all started sliding off. "We have to hurry to the other side!" He announced and they tried to do just that. The platform tipped too much, however, and they soon lost their foothold and slid off. Once they were on the ground below, Akane glared up as the platform righted itself in the air.

"Great. Now we have to climb that other wall again!" She yelled out in frustration.

-

Ranma, Ryoga and Nabiki stared straight ahead. They'd walked across the metal platform and around the mountain it curved against, only to find a long corridor that led to a stone door. There were two wheels in the front of the hallway that were attached to the wall via a pole of some sort.

"You turn the wheels and the stone door opens," Nabiki said. "But it couldn't be so easy." She looked doubtful.

"We won't know if we don't try," Ranma said. He and Ryoga moved to the wheels and started turning them with grunts of exertion, and as predicted, the stone door began to open. However, the door split into two pieces as each one receded into its respective wall. The doors both had long spikes that reached the other wall, but fit together when shut.

"You have to open both doors or you can't get through at all," Nabiki said. "So two of us have to stay here while the other goes to check out the new room."

"And if we try to run while the doors are closing, we'll be impaled by those things," Ryoga said grimly. "Even if we try to run while one of the doors is closing we'll be impaled."

"There's no way that Saotome ever becomes this creative," Nabiki said with a frown. Ranma frowned at her.

"It looks really simple to me," He said, crossing his arms. "Anyway, I'll go on ahead into the next room."

"Why you?" Nabiki asked.

"Because I'm the strongest, so any kind of surprise in there would be easy to-"

"Strongest?" Ryoga snorted. "If that's your reason, I should go-"

"Yeah right, pork jerky," Ranma sneered. "I'm going and that's final-"

"How about I go?" Nabiki started running towards the door, as she was not one of the two holding a wheel.

"Huh?" Ranma and Ryoga turned to look at her, but she was already halfway there. "Hey, wait!" He moved but Ryoga yelled out.

"Don't let go, moron!" Nabiki crossed over into the other room just as the wheels became too hard for them to hold back. The door shut behind her and she turned around, looking at it. From her side, the spikes were readily visible.

"I'm surprised he didn't splash blood on it for a dramatic effect," She muttered. There was the loud sound of something wet hitting the ground behind her with a splash, and she whipped her head around to face it. On the ground were several black blobs of something that were all converging to become one larger blob as Nabiki's recently re-awakened danger senses kicked in. "What the hell?" She took a defensive stance as the black liquid assumed a humanoid shape. One that, she realized, had a frightening resemblance to herself. The shadow liquid soon became an exact copy of herself, with the only difference being that she was slightly darker all around, and had black eyes.

"Well that's not good," Nabiki said, inclining her head a little bit. "I guess I have to defeat you or something in order for them to get through." The dark clone merely attacked. She jumped back in a backwards somersault, catching the clone by the chin with her foot and knocking it away. It flipped in the air and landed on its feet before lunging at her again as she landed. Nabiki knelt down and jumped up with scissor kicks, but the clone dodged by moving to the side and then elbowing her while she was still in the air.

Nabiki fell down to the ground on her side, and barely rolled out of a punch. The clone looked up at her as she jumped to her feet. Nabiki glared at it and charged as it stood up. She jumped up in the air and cocked her fist back as her momentum carried her towards the enemy, but it sidestepped again, and uppercut her while she was in the air. Nabiki grunted in pain, but grabbed her opponent's fist and pulled herself towards her, throwing her fist down into its face with as much force as she could muster. The head exploded in the black liquid from before, and the rest of the clone's body followed. Nabiki landed in a crouch and the liquid moved away before reforming just as quickly.

"Well damn," She stood up and went into another stance just in time to block a fist that was aimed for her face, redirect another one aimed at her chest, and then dodge another one that was aimed at her head again. She bent backwards and kicked up, hitting her opponent in the chest as she fell to the ground. Once on the ground, however, she coiled back and launched up using her hands, aiming to kick the opponent in the face. She flew over the clone as it bent its knees. And when she landed, it kicked her in the back, knocking her off of her feet. She growled and rolled forward just as he opponent stomped down where she'd been laying. She stood up and turned around to see it standing up again.

"What a bother." Nabiki caught her clone's kick and span around, tossing it into the stone door she'd had to go through to get in. It crashed with a loud boom and fell to the ground, before slowly standing up. Nabiki herself was panting, but the monster before her didn't seem to have any kind of physical limit. 'How can I kill something that can reform whenever I deal a decisive blow?' she thought as it attacked once more. 'If I knew more ice magic, I could freeze it, but Freeze Lancer doesn't freeze, it pierces… but maybe if I get one of the icicles lodged in…' With her plan decided, she moved into action once again.

She held out her hand and concentrated on gathering the mana necessary for the spell. The monster attacked, and she had to stop several times in order to dodge. Once she had enough, she jumped back and called out the name of the spell as the room went dark.

"Freeze Lancer!" A blue portal opened in front of her hand and blue icicles shot out, piercing her opponent with black splats of liquid as each one did. It slowed down to a stop as it froze from the inside out and Nabiki smirked. When it became apparent that nothing else would happen, she started looking around the room for some kind of clue as how to get back and get the other two through. She looked up and noticed a large hole in the wall about the size of a door about ten meters above the spiked door.

Nabiki leapt up at least two, and tried to climb up the rest of the way with her bare hands, but didn't even come close to making the mark. 'Damn, and Ranma would have been able to clear it right away,' She thought angrily. 'This is what I get for being so lazy… but, there has to be some way for me to get up there…'

-

Akane, Eliza, and Dai ran back down the ice path they had recently ascended. Behind them, a large ice boulder followed. As it turned out, the railing on the side wasn't to keep them from falling off, but to guide the boulder as the path turned. They jumped back onto the floating platform and ran across. When the ice boulder landed on the other side the topsy platform flipped, sending them flying up. They all landed in heaps on another platform, but this one was more solid. They stood up and looked around.

"I hope that was supposed to happen," Dai commented, unnerved.

"I think we might have cheated," Akane said as she pointed down. There were several more platforms that led up to where they were in between their current one and the other.

"Well that's not important," Dai said, as he continued to look around. The platform was circular in shape and at least twenty meters wide, and there were piles of rocks lying around, all of them in odd colors. There were some red rocks, brown rocks, purple rocks, blue rocks, and white rocks. He narrowed his eyes. 'There's mana welling up in the stones.' A barrier shot up around the platform, surrounding them in a large dome and he looked around.

"What the heck?" Eliza and Dai watched as Akane ran to the edge and slammed her fist on the barrier and the impact point rippled while making a strange sound every time she hit it. "It's solid." turned around and faced her companions. There was a rumbling sound behind them, and Akane's eyes widened. "Those rocks over there!" she yelled. Eliza and Dai turned around in time to see the rocks levitating. The various color rocks all shot towards them, and they ducked as they flew over. When they stood back up, they noticed the stones were floating in a strange fashion.

"The larger ones are being orbited by smaller ones of the same color," Dai noted. Eliza's eyes widened in recognition.

"Those are elemental stones," She said.

"What? Are they dangerous?" Akane asked. Dai looked at the stones in awe as Eliza continued to explain.

"They're sentries that use magic to attack. The type is correspondent to their color." The white rock formation suddenly started rotating faster and a blue rune appeared under it. "We have to attack now! Don't let them cast spells!"

'They have rocks that cast spells,' Akane thought, amazed as she and Dai attacked the white one before it could do anything. The purple rocks lit up and the smaller stones started rotating as well, and the ground beneath it was lit up with a purple rune. Akane noticed it and left the white one to Dai as she ran over to it, intent on smashing it before it could do anything. She cocked her fist back as she neared it and threw the punch just as a huge lightning bolt in the shape of a sword fell down on her with incredible speed. She yelled out in surprise as the sword exploded in electricity, knocking her away from the purple rocks and onto her back.

"Demon God Sword!" a voice called out behind her. A blue wave of razorsharp flew over her and into the purple rocks, but the smaller rocks suddenly stopped orbiting and focused a shield before the bigger one. The projectile barely scratched the concentrated super shield, and once it washed over, the rocks started orbiting again. Akane stood up and stared at it in surprise.

'How the heck is purple electricity, anyway?' She thought as she saw the red one out of the corner of her eyes. It's stones were already lit up and speeding up their orbit, and suddenly it stopped. She stood up hurriedly and looked around before she noticed a red shadow on the ground beneath her. Her eyes shot open and she scrambled to get away from the spell's effect range. A red missile like projectile hit the ground where she'd been and caused a contained explosion, like the spell Eliza had done earlier.

"Tidal wave!" Eliza's voice called out. Everything suddenly went dark as water materialized around them and started washing over the stones with crushing force. The only one that looked remotely damaged, however, was the purple one, as all of its stones had fallen to the ground and were not making any move to get back up. Akane then focused on the red one, which was floating idly, having been interrupted in its spellcasting by the water. The orbiting rocks started spinning again and Akane narrowed her eyes as she ran at it.

"No you don't," She growled as she sped up. She jumped into a high kick that only impacted a shield of floating red rocks. She growled as she rebounded off of it, somersaulting backwards.

"Allow me!" Dai's voice called out from below. She landed behind him and saw his sword charged with a bluish white light. "Flash Void Splitting Destruction!" He thrusted his sword toward the enemy multiple times, and each time was accompanied by a lance of the blue energy. His sword didn't impact the rocks at all, but the blue energy did, and it had a visible effect in the form of disrupting the shield. With a final thrust, he pushed through the shield and the blue lance gouged the large red stone in the center. The red rocks all fell to the ground, disabled.

"Indignation!" Eliza's voice called out. Akane turned as she heard a deep rumbling sound as the entire room faded to purple. She looked around in awe before there was a sudden explosion of power as a huge bolt of lightning crashed down onto the blue stone, eradicating it. The explosion of power as the bolt hit the ground knocked Akane off of her feet, but Dai had appropriately braced himself. He looked down at her and blinked.

"I suppose we should have warned you," he said sheepishly as she pulled herself to her feet.

"That would have been nice," Akane added. She suddenly noticed Dai staring at her with his jaw slightly agape. "What?"

"Your hair. It's white."

-

Nabiki flipped the two icicles in her hands and nodded to herself. She suddenly ran at the wall and leapt up, then stabbed the two icicles into the wall. But with her limited strength, the icicles didn't pierce the rocks at all, and she found herself slipping down to the ground again. She growled and looked up at it, trying to think of an alternative. 'If I can't climb up with the icicles…' She sighed and turned around, walking into the room and avoiding the ice sculpture of herself.

"There has to be someway to do this…" She thought as she leaned against the other side of the wall. 'I wasn't strong enough to get the icicles into the wall… Maybe if I use the spell _on_ the wall and try to climb up the icicles that are embedded…' She nodded to herself and decided to try just that.

-

Akane frowned as she noticed the purple rocks start levitating again.

'Didn't we get that one?' "Why can't you use that big lightning bolt again?"

"I could, but the rocks were the only one that it would have such an adverse effect on," Eliza said as she stood behind Akane. "The electrical one is weak against water in the same way as the water ones were weak against ice, but Tidal Wave doesn't have an instantaneous eradification effect. Water smashes and erodes, so it's a bit more slow going." She started focusing on her next next target, the brown rocks. Akane grunted and looked around to see which of the rocks were trying to cast spells and spotted the white ones. 'Those white ones must be ice if the blue ones were water,'

She ran over to it and threw a punch, encountering only the condensed stone shield. 'And the spells stop when they guard themselves,' she thought as she ran around it. The shield rotated around the center stone so that she couldn't just hit it from the side. Dai, seeing an opportunity, rushed in from the side it left unguarded.

"Lion Battle Roar!" He yelled. Akane blinked as he threw a Chi blast in the shape of a Lion's roaring face, that slammed into the white rocks with incredible force, sending it flying in a blur until it smashed into the barrier on the side. The rocks fell down to the ground, and she could see that the center one had a few cracks in it.

'The stones in the center must be the ones casting the spells. That's why they're shielded. If we can destroy those, then we'll be finished.' Akane nodded. "If Ryoga-kun were here, he'd have laughed at these enemies," she grumbled.

-

Nabiki smirked as she looked down from the doorway. It led to a bunch of carved stone stairs, but she had turned around to look one more time at the room.

"I win," She smirked as she turned around and started up the stairs. Once she reached the end of the stairs, she noticed that she was back in the huge obstacle course room, standing on a clif much higher up than they had been before. She looked to the ground and saw a small blue stone sitting on the ground. Smirking, she reached over to pick it up. "And now the clue with how to get them up here." She looked at the single word and nodded.

-

Ranma and Ryoga stared at the big stone door.

"Why doesn't Bakusai Tenketsu work?" Ryoga muttered. "It's a rock door."

"It's saturated with mana," Ranma sighed. "I just hope Nabiki hasn't died. It's been a long while." He walked back out to the entrance of the corridor, when suddenly Nabiki dropped down and landed in front of him.

"Hey," She said. Ranma looked up and noticed another metal railing that was similar to the one they were on, but unreachable from where they were. "Can you make any sense of this?" She asked as she held up the rock for him to see. He took it and looked at it.

"Chaos?" He blinked. "What could Chaos do?"

"Chaos energy," Ryoga suggested. "The energy you get from combining life energy, spirit energy, and magical energy."

"Oh yeah. But what can we do with that?" Ranma thought.

"I'm not sure." Ryoga shrugged. "Let's try making some first."

"Okay," Ranma shrugged. Ryoga nodded and materialized spheres of reiki in both hands. Ranma nodded and made two balls of chi in his hands. They looked at Nabiki, who blinked back.

"What do you want me to do?" She asked.

"Mana. Focus it, as raw as you can get it, into the palm of your hands," Ranma said. "We don't have enough Mana because of these human bodies."

"Okay," Nabiki shrugged and tried to do just that. She closed her eyes and focused on pulling the energy the way she did before shaping it into the ice spell, tried to imagine it materializing in her hands. As she did that, she opened her eyes and noticed both Ranma and Ryoga staring at her, jaws agape.

"What? What's the problem?"

"It's nothing," Ryoga said, the first to recover. Ranma looked over at him, but Ryoga gave him a meaningful look that clearly said 'Later.' "Now combine the energy with ours," He said as he brought both spheres of reiki into one, larger sphere. Ranma followed his example, as did Nabiki, and soon they all tried to merge their respective energies. There was a flash as the energies melded, forming an even larger sphere that flashed many different colors. Nabiki and Ranma's eyes widened in recognition.

"I've felt this before," Nabiki said. "It was that day we went to the party."

"Yeah," Ranma said. "This is the energy that I felt when we used that jewel to…" His eyes suddenly snapped open. "Of course! How could I have forgotten?!" He slapped himself in the face. "Chaos energy… Chaos Control, that technique that Touya used to stop time!"

"Stop… time?" Ryouga asked.

"I remember that," Nabiki said. "The black haired man did it too at the end of the party when you all vanished."

"That's right," Ryouga said. "I was wondering what had happened."

"So you know how to do that, Ranma?" Nabiki asked.

"Not quite," He said, strained. "I can remember how he did it, but it won't be easy to replicate. Both times, they were using a larger source of chaos than this little thing here. A Chaos Emerald and a jewel that was able to emulate one when we put in only small amounts of mana and chi. I supplied the chi, and I guess Chibi-Usa did the mana…" Nabiki had a flashback as she remembered the pink-haired girl that had visited their house that day, but she hadn't seen for more than a few minutes at the party.

"That means the jewel already had a great deal of spiritual energy in it, then." Ryoga said. "We should try to do that. If you can stop time, then we can just open the door and walk by while we wait."

"But I'm not sure how long time will stop if we just use this," Ranma supplied.

"Try it. We can make another one." Ranma nodded at Nabikis suggestion and shot his hand into the sphere.

"Alright! CHAOS CONTROL!" He yelled out. The ball vanished in a flash, and when it was over, Ranma was standing across from where he'd been, but there was no indication other he'd moved other than the fact that he was standing somewhere else. "It was thirty seconds almost."

"That should be good enough," Nabiki told him.

-

"That's it for these things," Akane said as she stood above a purple rocks. The elemental guardians had all been destroyed by that time, and the barrier was melting away as well. A circular, blue panel it up on the ground in the center of the platform and they all walked over to it.

"It's a teleporter," Dai reported. "Let's go." He stepped onto the teleporter and vanished in a flash of blue light. Eliza smiled at Akane and followed.

"Wait!" Akane said. "How does it work?"

"Oh?" Eliza blinked. 'What kind of future would she be from that she's not familiar with a teleporter?' "You just step on it and give it a mental command to 'go' when you want to leave." She nodded and a blue glow enveloped her as she vanished. Akane looked at the teleporter dubiously before she sighed and went after them. She closed her eyes as the teleporter lit up beneath her. Even with her eyes closed, there was a blue glow as it lit up, and she felt herself lurch upwards for no more than a second before she was on solid ground again. She opened her eyes and blinked as she realized she was in a different room.

The room was blue with ice and rocks and, and like the rooms on the space ship, there was no visible light source. She noted the size and shape of the room; it was constructed in a huge half dome shape that ended in a wall with a giant Chinese style dragon's head statue poking out of the wall. She looked up at the blue statue, observing all of the detail put into it.

"What an eyesore," Dai remarked with a bored look, and Akane turned her head to look at him, and realized he was looking at the dragon. "What kind of monster is that, anyway?"

"It's a dragon," Akane said with a frown. "What should we do? Nothing is happening so far," She said. "Should we look around for a clue or something?"

"I don't know," Eliza said. The three looked around the room for a good ten minutes, but were able to come up with nothing. The teleporter on their side was deactivated, and the dragon's head was too high to reach. Other than those two things, the room was completely empty.

"Any ideas?" Akane asked.

"We wait. If that doesn't work, we try looking around again." Dai commanded.

"Okay," Akane and Eliza both nodded. The two girls sat down while Dai started pacing around.

"Say, Dai," Akane said suddenly. "Does your hair ever get in the way of your fighting?" she asked. His silver hair was incredibly long, and it wasn't put into a braid of any sort at all. He blinked and looked at her.

"No," He said simply.

"Oh." She sighed and started thinking about her friends. "I wonder how Ranma is doing…" She thought.

"Ranma…" Eliza muttered. "Ah. That was the one you said was your fiancé, right?"

"Yeah," Akane nodded. "He's the one who turns into a girl."

"Oh yes," Eliza said. "That is incredibly odd. How did that happen?"

"Well you see, there's a place called Jusenkyo…"

-

Nabiki led Ranma and Ryoga up the stone stairs and soon they were all standing in the obstacle course room again. After having used the Chaos Control to get through the door, they had climbed up the icicles and gone through the upper door, taking them to the cliff she had been on before. The group all looked around as they realized there was nowhere else for them to go from there.

"This is weird," Ranma turned around and looked up, above the hole in the wall.

"The only place to go is back down it seems." Ryoga said.

"Wait," Ranma pointed up at the wall as his friends turned around to look up what he was. "It's another rope." The rope's color had rendered it all but invisible against the red rocks. Without another word, he leapt up and grabbed onto the rope, and pulled himself up. "Whoa!" He cried out in surprise as he pulled himself _into_ the wall.

"What's going on?" Nabiki asked as the rest of Ranma's body disappeared into the wall.

"It's a fake wall," Ranma's voice called out. "There's really a small room in here with a teleporter."

"Oh," Ryoga blinked. He and Nabiki looked at each other. "Should we come up?"

"I guess, I'm gonna use the teleporter," The other teens shrugged and followed him up into the room to find that he'd been right and was gone.

"How do you use this thing?" Nabiki asked.

"Just think 'go' or something," Ryoga said as he walked over to it. The red panel in the ground lit up and he vanished in a red flash. She tilted her head before she shrugged and walked over to it as well. The thing lit up and she sighed before stepping onto it.

"I look forward to the day I can just sit back and count my money again…" She grumbled as everything around her blurred for a second. In the time it would have taken to blink, she found herself in a different room.

"Awesome looking dragon," Ranma said. "I just hope it doesn't come alive and try to eat us," Nabiki turned her head to follow his voice and noticed a huge statue of a dragon's head poking out of the wall.

"Way to jinx us, Saotome," Nabiki said as she continued looking around the room. It was all red, and certain spots had lava coursing down the sides. The room was huge and was in a half dome shape as well. 'Half a circle…hmm…'

"I'll check out the dragon," She heard Ranma say. She turned and watched Ranma leap up onto the dragon's snout, and start looking around.

"What do you think of this so far?" Nabiki asked.

"Well, it hasn't exactly been too hard. It seems more like a test for you than us," Ryoga said, with a frown. "I'm wondering if that's going to change, and if so, how drastically."

"You know, I'm wondering if either of you are aware of Murphy's Law," Nabiki growled as she warily eyed the stone dragon.

"I am, but this isn't what I'd have expected from him…" Ryoga muttered.

"Hey guys! I found something!" Ranma called out. They looked up and saw him holding a blue rock up.

"What's it say?" Nabiki yelled back.

"See for yourselves!" Ranma yelled as he tossed it down. Ryoga caught it easily and stared.

"Break," He said. He looked up at the stone dragon. "The dragon, I guess."

-

"So how did my hair end up turning white?" Akane asked. Dai was lying on his back, and the girls were both sitting on the ground, talking. At first, Dai had been against just waiting around, but the girls talked him into taking a break, and soon he was relaxing with them.

"Mana Overload." Eliza said simply. She spared Akane the details, knowing that she wouldn't believe that a sudden influx of mana in her system had erased the illusion on her that made her appear human, even though it felt wrong to do. Dai looked at her pointedly for a moment, then gave a slight nod.

"What's that?"

"Well, probably when you were hit by a spell, you changed. You've never been hit by magic before, right?"

"Not that strong, atleast," Akane said, frowning. "Or not strong… it just felt… thicker? Than other… spells I've been hit with, or seen thrown around." Eliza nodded at that.

"I'm not sure if it will wear off, but you can always use an illusion to make it black again," the girl offered. Akane sighed.

"This is more like the kind of thing to happen to…" She blinked and turned her head. Eliza and Dai both looked at her before turning to look in the same direction. "Do you hear that?" The other two strained their ears and Dai narrowed his eyes. There was a low rumbling noise coming from behind the wall with the dragon's head. Suddenly, cracks started forming in the wall and the dragon. They all stood up and took a few steps back and Dai put his hand on the hilt of his sword as he stood over the girls protectively. Akane noticed that and moved to stand beside him defiantly.

"There's an evil aura behind that wall." He said. Akane nodded as the wall crumbled.

"Looks like we were waiting for these things to show up." There was a large amount of dust in the air from the rocks, and as it cleared, she could see that the room they were in was actually a full dome, half red and half blue. On the other side of the wall stood three black humanoid shapes, practically glowing with evil intent. "There's three of them," She noted apprehensively. Dai nodded and started unsheathing his sword.

-

"Three, and one of them is already about to attack," Ranma noted as he watched the three dark shapes. Nabiki looked over them apprehensively and cursed.

"I'm wondering if five hundred million yen was worth this," Nabiki muttered. Ryoga and Ranma both glanced at her in confusion. She jumped back and held out her hand, as a blue rune appeared below her, and both boys took that as their cue to attack. Ranma started running towards the one that had unsheathed a sword and took out his own, while Ryoga went after the one standing beside it.

-

"Here they come!" Akane yelled. Eliza ran back and started chanting for a spell while both of the others charged forth. Dai, slashed up with his sword, but it was blocked by a dark saber. He glared at the shadow creature's face, and it seemed to be smirking at him. He pulled back and yelled out the name of an attack.

"Fissure Sky Slash!"

-

Ranma watched as his enemy drew back and leapt up, rapidly somersaulting in the air with his sword held forward, creating a motion not unlike that of a buzzsaw. He dodged by jumping to the side and called out the name of his own attack.

"Majinken!" He yelled, slashing down with the saber. A blue wave of energy rapidly flew at his shadow opponent, but the enemy caught on at the last moment and jumped up and over it, falling towards him.

-

"It knows the Demon God Sword?!" Dai yelled out in angry surprise as he fell towards his enemy. He scowled. "Fine, take this! Demon God Sword: Twin Fang!" He slashed his sword down, and then up, sending two projectiles at his opponent before he landed on the ground. His enemy jumped back and dodged both, before looking at him in a seemingly appreciative way.

-

"Not bad," Ranma smirked. "A Majinken: Souga. This could get interesting!" He yelled out as he ran towards the enemy with his sword glowing blue. "Senkuuretsuha!" He yelled, throwing multiple thrusts at his enemy, each one accompanied by a blue lance of light. Ryoga, however, was not having nearly as much trouble with his opponent.

"Ranma's having fun," Ryoga thought angrily. His fist connected with the shadow enemy again, knocking it over. So far, he'd been going easy on it.

"Ryoga! Get out of the way!" Nabiki called out. Ryoga turned to the side and saw Nabiki practically glowing blue, and his eyes widened in surprise.

'She figured out how to hold it?!' He instantly jumped out of the way, and with Ryoga no longer in the way, Nabiki released her spell.

"Freeze Lancer!" She yelled out, and the usual blue portal opened up before her, before shooting icy blue projectiles out at Ryoga's shadow enemy at high speeds.

-

Akane yelped as she flipped out of the way of the icicles, rolling to her feet as soon as she did so.

"They know magic too?!" She yelled out angrily.

"Relax, it seems that they were made to combat us specifically. The waiting time was probably an assessment of our skill. They have two fighters and a spell caster like us," Dai called out as he and his shadow opponent took a breather.

"That's great and all, but I'm getting double teamed over here!" Akane yelled angrily.

"No worries! Indignation!" Eliza's voice called out sweetly. Akane gave the girl a half-lidded stare.

'How can she say the name of such a lethal spell in that way?'

-

Ryoga noticed his shadow enemy looking off to the side and followed its gaze to another one surrounded by complicated purple runes. His eyes widened in recognition as he heard a deep rumbling noise as the entire room went purple.

"MOVE!" He commanded. Neither Ranma nor Nabiki knew who he was talking to, so they both responded by jumping. Nabiki just barely dodged a huge bolt of lightning, and as it was, the explosion it made upon impacting the ground sent her flying. "That one slipped away while we weren't noticing! Focus on it, Nabiki!" Nabiki didn't question the command at all and ran towards the enemy that had cast the spell.

-

"Ack!?" Eliza screamed as she noticed one of the shadow creatures, most notably the one she'd tried to hit with the spell, running at her. Dai noticed and sped over to her, but his shadow opponent materialized in his way and punched him in the face. He cried out in surprise and flew back. Akane noticed that her shadow creature seemed to have forgotten about her, so she started running to intercept the other one before it could hurt the red head, only to be grabbed by the back of her neck and casually tossed aside.

-

"I'll deal with you later," Ryoga growled as he also started running after the shadow that was capable of using advanced spells. As he'd predicted, it started running away, meaning that it was probably very weak physically, but stronger in terms of magic. Suddenly, he was hit in the side by the shadow he'd tossed aside and his eyes widened. That had hurt! He looked at it incredulously. 'It has low skill, but it's stronger than a train!'

-

"Now I'm mad," Akane growled as her opponent stared at her. She made to punch it again. "You don't just go tossing me around and then ignoring me!" Her fist flew at the shadow fighter at top speed, but it was caught. Her eyes widened as her stomach exploded in pain and she flew back from the blow. 'It was holding back!' She growled. 'Why am I always taken so lightly?!' An image of her fiancé flashed through her head and she growled again. 'Stupid Ranma! Stupid SHADOW!' She immediately leapt to her feet and charged the shadow. 'It's not human, so I can hurt it more than usual!'

-

Ryoga glared as his opponent's fist started glowing.

"That's definitely Chi," He noted. "That means it's alive some how, not just a spirit. Oh well, I can use Chi too," He smirked as it neared him and swung its fist down. He jumped out of the way and when its fist hit the ground, there was a small crater. "That might bruise me," He noted absently. "But it's not very impressive." 'I wish I had Chal here,' He thought. 'Then, at least I could use magic too, even though I am human.' Not stopping to wonder about who or what 'Chal' was, he frowned and called out the name of his signature attack.

"Shi Shi Hokudan!"

-

Akane dodged the large red projectile that it had thrown at her. 'That was close! This thing is really good!'

"Help me!" Eliza's voice called out in a panic, but Akane knew she couldn't afford to split her focus.

'You have to help yourself this time,' Akane thought grimly as she prepared to take on her opponent.

-

"Dammit, stay still!" Nabiki yelled as she tried to connect a hit with the other spell caster. It would not stay still enough for one blow, and continued to successfully dodge her attacks, even with her renewed training. 'I can't seem to hit it with physical attacks.' She narrowed her eyes at the enemy. 'I'll have to use that other spell I learned, then,' She thought. 'But it takes much longer to charge.' She suddenly stopped her assault and immediately closed her eyes, focusing on using the spell she'd figured out after using Freeze Lancer a few times.

-

"It's not coming after me?" Eliza noticed as she slowed down to a stop. She turned around and noticed what it was doing. "A spell!" Her eyes widened and she immediately started one of her own.

-

Meanwhile, Ranma was locked in a sword fight with his enemy. They held against each other, trying to get the other to falter, before drawing back.

"It knows all of the sword skills I do," He muttered. "Is it a copy?" He frowned as he glanced over at Nabiki and Ryoga's fights. Nabiki and her opponent were both charging spells, and Ryoga was engaged in a fistfight with his own. "It looks like it." He turned back and smirked at his opponent, only to realize that it was no longer there. He looked around in a frenzy before looking up as he noticed his opponent flying down at him.

-

Dai smirked; his opponent had been distracted by something for an instant, and it was all he'd needed.

"Crimson Lotus Sword!" He yelled out, slashing downwards. A large ball of fire appeared at the end of his slash and flew at the enemy, while the recoil from the attack sent Dai somersaulting backwards.

-

'A Gurenken!' Ranma noted as he jumped to the side, dodging the attack. He noted his opponent running at him with a glowing blue fist held back and smirked.

"Not good enough!" He yelled as he pulled his fist back. "Shi Shi Senkou!" He yelled, throwing his fist forward.

-

"Lion's Battle Roar!" Dai cried out and he threw his fist forward just as his opponent did. Two identical projectiles in the shape of a lion's roaring face appeared and crashed into each other. 'It did it without any preperation time! It must be a master of using life energy to attack, even better than I am. I'll have to use more sword techniques. And I have just the one!' He growled and held his sword back in a stance.

"Continuous Strike: Dragon's Fangs and Claws!" He yelled out as he flew at his blackened opponent, sword slashing in a frenzy.

-

'Souryuurengazan,' Ranma noted appreciatively. He blocked most of the slashes, but a few of them glanced across his skin and one managed to get even deeper than that. His eyes flashed down to the blood on his wound and he frowned, before looking up at the shadow creature.

"You got me," Ranma said. "My turn." He held up his sword as his aura suddenly flashed with violent intent. "Satsugeki Bukou Ken!" He yelled, and as he lunged forward at a speed that made him look like he was flying, there was a trail of darkened after images behind him.

-

Dai's eyes widened in sudden recognition.

"It can't be… The Killing Dramatic Dance: Wild Sword?!" He started sweating as his opponent neared him, and barely brought his sword up to block the first few vicious slash attacks. He dodged to the side of a thrust, but was unprepared for his opponent to kick him into the air. As he righted himself into the air, he barely dodged several more slashes and strikes, and the opponent ended by jumping back and slashing up, sending a wave of fire at Dai that washed over him painfully as he fell to the ground. He stood up, ignoring the searing pain in his system.

"I don't believe it," Dai growled as he stood up. "How did it learn that? That technique is only taught by one person, and he's dead. I never used it in front of him, so… Of course! If Pallas made this, then it would be possible for him to model a creation that knew a technique like that." He looked at it with grim resignation. "But that means it could have several more lethal techniques hidden. I'll have to get serious.." He held his sword back and it started glowing with energy. "Vacuum Destruction Slash!" He yelled, slashing forward.

-

'He can't hit me from that distance,' Ranma thought. 'Unless… Shinkuuhazan? No way!' He barely jumped up in time to dodge the shadow creature's sword as the blade stretched the entire distance needed to cut him in half. 'That's fatal stuff,' Ranma thought grimly as he landed. 'I'll have to end this fast.'

"Absolute!" a voice called out from the side. Ranma's head whipped over to the side and he gaped as blue runes exploded around Nabiki and the entire room went dark.

-

'That's not a good sign,' Eliza noted as the room went dark. 'But just in time!' "God Breath!" She cried out.

"Eliza! Get out of there!" Dai's voice came from the side.

-

Nabiki watched with a smirk as icy air moved around the shadow creature, before suddenly, in a blue flash, converging on it and turning it into a shadowsicle. That was when she heard a deep rumbling from above and looked up in time to see a green light rapidly descending on her from above. It crashed into her, knocking her down into the ground with incredible force with a resounding boom.

Ryoga and Ranma both heard the sound sprinted over to Nabiki's prone form. As they got closer, they realized that she was lying, unconscious, in a crater.

"Damn!" Ranma looked up and saw the other shadow creatures standing over their own fallen one. "Wait, why would mindless monsters…" He narrowed his eyes. 'That's weird.'

-

"Eliza!" Dai called out in a panic.

"She's just unconscious," Akane said. "She's covered in ice, though." And she was; there were little bits and pieces of ice sticking to her pale skin. "If we don't warm her up some how, she'll die."

"Dammit…" Dai closed his eyes and she noticed tears leaking from his eyes. "It wasn't supposed… to happen like this…" He started shaking and Akane looked over at the shadow creatures with pure, unbridled menace.

"They're going to pay for this," She said.

"No. We have to save Eliza first."

"How are we going to do that?"

"I know some healing spells. Please keep them busy so I can save my sister's life," He said. "But do not kill them. I wish to do that myself." Akane paused at that but slowly nodded after a while and stood up. Her aura suddenly shot up with new life as she walked over to them.

"I won't kill them," She said. Dai noted, however, like it was more like she was talking to herself than him.

-

"They look pretty mad now," Ranma said in confusion as he and Ryoga noted the large black aura that shot up around the single shadow approaching them. "But what were they expecting us to do? And why does the one over there know healing magic?"

"Even evil shadow monsters know healing magic, Ranma," Ryoga said exasperatedly. "Just get Nabiki to a safe place. This one is mine." He stood up and matched the shadow creature's gait, step for step. Ranma just sighed and picked up the unconscious girl before leaping up and away. Ryoga cracked his knuckles dramatically. "It's time we ended this."

-

"You're going to regret ignoring me earlier," Akane said as she focused her chi, before she noticed something odd. 'My chi… there's something else there, too…' The shadow creature beckoned and she was all too happy to oblige it. With a burst of speed, she sped forward and threw a fist at its face. It barely moved in time to dodge her, and Akane followed up with another and another.

-

"What the hell," Ryoga thought angrily. "It's moving much faster than before." The shadow creature pressed at him relentlessly, and he was forced to move back. "But I still haven't shown you my own true speed." He analyzed the energy it was using again and was shocked at what he found. 'That's not just Chi. It's mixing Chi and Mana to increase it's speed and power to use a technique called Instant Movement if I'm right,' He narrowed his eyes. 'But I don't have the mana reserves to do that. I'll just have to use my chi.' He smiled at the shadow creature. 'But for you, that should be more than enough. Ranma wasn't able to keep up with it before…'

-

Akane growled as she continued to miss her opponent. Her speed had increased greatly, due to that strange new energy mixing with her Chi, but still she continued to miss. Her eyes widened as she suddenly got an idea. 'When Ryoga learned the Bakusai Tenketsu, Ranma hit the same spot over and over to cause damage. It was very taxing, but I can try that…' She suddenly focused and launched all of her punches in a controlled motion, hitting the shadow creature in the chest repeatedly with what looked like one strike.

-

Ryoga's face contorted in pain as the strike from his shadow opponent sent him flying backwards.

'Only Ranma has ever done that to me,' He rolled several times to a stop, and when he did, he immediately stood to his feet. 'We're in this horrible mountain with no hope of surviving, and Nabiki has already been hurt…'

-

"That's… Ryoga's heavy aura…" Akane said as a black aura sprang up around the shadowed creature. "W-why is it doing that?!"

"Akane! Watch out!"

-

'…I'll never see Rie, again… Or mom and dad… Once again I've failed the people I love… Eliza, Marian… I'll always be a disgrace.' He looked at his opponent as his eyes started glowing green as Chi started leaking out and up like flaming tears. "Junsei Teisuu Shishi Hokudan!" Ryoga held up his hand as he fired a continuous beam of energy that slammed into his opponent with incredible force, slamming them into a wall.

-

Akane's eyes widened in pain as she collided with the wall, but the beam didn't stop there. Her shadow opponent kept feeding the beam energy, and for every second that it held her against the wall, it felt like hundreds of powerful, boulder-splitting blows were slamming into her gut. Once the attack died down, she fell over almost twenty meters to the ground and landed in a lifeless slump. Dai, having stabilized his sister, ran over to the girl and gave her a once over.

She gagged on her own blood for a moment before spitting out a clump of the crimson liquid. Dai went pale as he assessed how much blood had come out with that one gag and immediately set to saving her life.

-

Emotionally drained, Ryoga could only impassively watch as one of the shadow creatures glowed with green energy as it tended to the one he'd just killed, before a thought occurred to him.

'They do not disperse when killed. But they are shadow spirits. I do not understand.'

-

Dai put Akane into a better condition so that she could heal properly. 'That could have liquefied her internal organs if it kept going,' He thought, angrily. 'Why would he set us against such powerful enemies? There was never a hope for these two to survive. Pallas, you…' He stood up and turned to face the shadow creature that had seen fit to try and kill his new friend. He took a hold of his sword once again and stalked towards it as it stood waiting for him.

"You will be erased from existence." Dai said in a tone of complete indifference. He held up his sword and it started glowing.

-

Ryoga unsheathed his own sword as he watched his opponent.

'This is the one Ranma was fighting.' His opponent took a few more purposeful steps before going into a jog. Ryoga solidified a defensive stance as his opponent started an all out sprint at a speed that kicked up dust and dirt behind him. His eyes widened when his opponent flashed off to the side, and Ryoga barely had enough time to jump up and avoid being stabbed from behind. He looked down in time to see the dark shadow sword pierce the air where his heart would have been before vanishing. His danger senses flashed again, and when he looked up, the shadow warrior was falling towards him with the sword held up for a great slash.

-

"This is the end for you! Vacuum Fissure Slash!" Dai slashed forward, and the motion started him in a somersault that gained speed as he fell towards his shadow opponent.

-

'Shinkuuretsuzan?!' Ryoga thought in surprise. 'That's Ranma's… no, the other person- I better counter!' "Kuushuuken!" Ryoga swung his sword in a wild slash that took him out of the enemy's attack range, and then shot like a bullet into his side with a thrust.

-

"Emilio's attacks as well," Dai noted as he fell out of his own technique to dodge the shadow creature's. His eyes narrowed dangerously and there was a burst of white light. 'But I always beat Emilio.' "Secret Art: Heaven's King Judgement Wave." There was an explosion of white light from his sword and a beam of energy flew up at his shadow opponent.

-

'A Hi-ougi? Counter!' "Hi-ougi: Majin Rengoku Sa- Geh!" His face contorted in pain and surprise as column of pure white energy flew into him 'This is Silver Millenium energy! How can this be-' The light closed around him and crushed him before exploding suddenly, sending him flying straight up into the air.

-

Dai watched as the lifeless form of his shadow opponent slammed into the ground on the opposite side of the huge dome. He turned an emotionless face to where he knew the last shadow creature was watching. 'It's time we finally finished our little duel,' He said as he started walking towards it.

-

"Damn," Ranma said as he watched with awe as Ryoga laid on the ground, unmoving. "That was definitely a Hi-ougi." He took Nabiki's long sword, which had rarely seen use outside of practice, and set the saber next to her. "I have to finish this one fast if he can do that. But I guess I should have told Ryoga he was fighting a copy of me. He never really stood a chance…" He stood up and walked over to the shadow clone, watching it with a calculating face. They both stood there, not two meters away from each other, holding out their swords in an identical stance.

-

"Secret Art: Violent Silver Edge!"

-

"Hi-ougi: Ranbaku Gongaku!"

-

Both swords lit up with an identical silver energy. In the shadows, a man with a long ponytail and black cloak watched, pleased.

"It seems the past, present, and future have all gathered in the same area," He said with a smirk. "Pallas. It's time."

"I know," another voice responded.

-

There was an explosion of energy and Ranma suddenly looked down at his sword. It had been replaced by a semi-transparent blade in the shape of a flame with a red hilt, and the silver aura around it intensified. He looked over and noticed that his shadow opponent had a sword with a semi-transparent blade in with ice crystals jutting out at random intervals to give it a jagged edge.

-

"The Flamberge and Vorpal Sword," Dai said as he looked at his enemy. "But that will not save you." He jumped back, just as his opponent did the same, and both lunged at each other in a wild slash. Their blades locked, and there was an explosion of silver energy as the blades in their hands melted together. The two fighters were thrown back by the blast, and the two could only watch as the blades floated in the air, still locked in their struggle, even without their wielders there to fight.

Suddenly, with another flash of light, the two blades were replaced by a single sword.

"The Eternal Sword!" Dai cried out in realization. He looked at his shadow opponent and was surprised to see that it was a cloaked man wearing a uniform identical to the one Akane had been wearing. "You! You're human?!"

"You're not some kind of shadow monster?" Ranma asked in confusion. "Who the hell…" His eyes lit up in recognition. 'Hey, that's _me_!'

"I should be asking you that. Where did you learn all of those techniques if you're not a shadow construct?"

"Uh, the future," Ranma said. Dai's eyes lit up in realization.

"You must be one of Lady Akane's friends! But that means…" His eyes shot up in horror as he turned to look at the white-haired girl in question.

"Eh?" Ranma followed Dai's gaze to Akane's prone form. At their distance, he couldn't see anything about them, other than that they were wearing one of the uniforms they'd taken from space ship/station whatever Kuno had called it and had a head of white hair.

"Her hair turned white when she was overloaded with mana. There was a repression spell on her, but it was weak, and didn't take into account that she would be attacked by potent magic." Dai explained.

"What?!" Ranma's eyes shot open and he shot up and over to the girl. She was unconscious and there was still wet blood on the ground next to her mouth. "No! Akane!" Dai joined them.

"What is your name?" Dai asked suddenly.

"R-Ranma," the boy said weakly. Dai's eyes widened in surprised.

'Her fiancé.' He nodded to himself. "I saved her life. She needs to rest for a few days, though."

"She's – she's not in danger?" Ranma asked. The other boy nodded and he felt relief wash over him. Dai turned around and looked at the Eternal Sword, and was shocked to find two familiar people standing under it. He glanced down at the boy beside him before turning a confused look to the two people standing under the sword.

"What is going on here?!" Dai demanded of the two newcomers. Ranma turned around and froze as he recognized the two people there.

"Future me and… Pallas?" He said confused. Dai glanced down at Ranma again.

'How does he know my ancestor's name?'

"You have both done well," Pallas started. "However, there is still yet more for you to accomplish."

"The capital is under attack, and you are still missing one person."

"That's right," Ranma said, as he looked around. He didn't see Kuno where the spell casting shadow warrior had been, and had doubted that it was him in the first place. "Kuno's still missing!"

"Both of you will find what you need in the same place," Pallas intoned. The Eternal sword vanished from beside them and appeared before Dai. "You need only to go there."

"Wait," Dai said. "My lord… I beg of you! In the event that I can not stop this war from occurring, help defend our people-"

"Your people," Pallas started with a look of contempt, "Have long since abandoned the laws I set for them to live by. They have returned to the self-righteous ways and views that I distinguished myself from millennia ago. I do not have any desire to save them. You, however, my descended, still live by those laws. I have already given you adequate power to accomplish your tasks. Now go." He vanished in a flash of white light, and Future Ranma shook his head and sighed.

"Wait!" Dai called out futilely. "Come back! Your people need you!"

"They are not his people," The man in the black cloak said. "His people are on Derris Kharlan and Exire now."

"What?"

"Think of it as a purge," the future Ranma said with a shrug. He grinned at them. "Don't forget the ring." And with that, he reached into his cloak and retrieved the Eternal Sword. "I'll be being you later," He held up the sword and was surrounded by a blue field of electricity before vanishing in a white flash.

"What… just happened?" Dai asked as he looked down at his hands.

"You have the Eternal Sword now, that's what matters," Ranma said. "We have to focus on our goals right now; getting my last friend, and then going home, and for you, saving as many of your people as you can."

"Yes… you are right. But without the rings of the pact, we can not control the time and space aspects of the Eternal Sword. It is just a meat cleaver as it is now." Dai said. "I left the Diamond in our vault, and no one has seen the Turquoise in eons."

"I have the Turquoise Ring," Ranma said, reaching into a pocket and tossing it to Dai. Dai caught it.

"That's… With this, we can only control the space aspect. We will be able to teleport to the Capital, but not through time." He put the ring on his left hand.

"He said what we needed was in the same place. Kuno is probably there at the capital,"

"And it is already under attack. We must hurry. Gather your friends," Dai commanded as he ran over to his sister. Ranma nodded and went to retrieve his companions as well. Soon, all four of the unconscious people were gathered and neatly laid together. Dai and Ranma both nodded to each other and Dai held up the Eternal Sword. "Hmm… How does it work?"

"Try talking to it," Ranma said. Dai nodded.

"Eternal Sword, can you take us to the capital?"

"Of course." They both blinked at the booming masculine voice of the sword. "If that is your desire, it will be done."

---

Kuno stood patiently atop the balcony of the prince's extravagant room as the sounds of fighting floated up from below.

"They will arrive in…" He looked down at his unfolded device, where there was a countdown. "Less than ten seconds." He nodded to himself and pocketed the device.

Not too long after that, there was a blue dome of electricity that appeared before him. Six people, four of them unconscious, materialized before him.

"We made it," Ranma said as he looked around. He spotted Kuno standing there, an impassive look on his face. "Kuno?!"

"You took an unusually long time in your return, Saotome."

"Shut it, Kuno! We still need something before we can return to our time!"

"I have already located the Diamond Ring," Kuno said.

"You moron- Wwwwhat?!"

"Ugh…" came a familiar voice. They all turned to see Nabiki sit up. "What the hell hit me?"

"A beam of concentrated air," Dai remarked.

"Oh." She blinked and turned to look at Dai, before spotting Kuno and Ranma. "Hey, who's this guy?" She asked, pointing at the silver haired boy.

"A prince," Ranma said. "Nabiki, we're going to be right back. We need you to stay here for now."

"No," Kuno said. "She will be coming with us. We require either hers or Tendo Akane's presence to get into the vault." Dai looked at him in confusion, before looking at both of the sisters.

"They can get you in the royal vault?" Kuno nodded. "Well then, you people go on and do what you want. I have to save my people." Dai walked over to his sister and held his hands over her. They were encased with a green glow and Kuno took that as their cue to leave.

"Saotome, Tendo. Come." He turned and started walking away with. Nabiki and Ranma looked at each other in confusion before following the uniformed boy.

As soon as they took a step into the hall, a bokuto materialized in Kuno's hand and they looked at him in shock.

"From here on, it will be full of danger," He said. Nabiki groaned loudly.

"We were just in an area full of danger! Where the hell are we, anyway?! What happened to the mountain?!"

"Later, Nabs," Ranma said. "For now, let's focus on getting home."

"What?"

"We have three of the four components needed to go back to our time. We are, currently, seeking out the last."

"Well okay, but couldn't you have left me with the nice silver haired kid?"

"No. Your presence is required to get into the vault." Kuno said simply. He started walking down the hall that the prince's room led to. The hall led to a large room with a huge staircase. Two of the three looked around in horror at the various corpses that lined the ground.

"There's more over there!" Came another voice. They all turned to see some men flanked by youma rushing at them. "Kill them all!"

"Not today," Ranma said with a growl as he took up an offensive stance. "You two go ahead, I'll catch up!" Kuno and Nabiki nodded before running off. "Heh, I didn't get to use any unarmed attacks in that mountain fight," Ranma said with a grin as he cracked his knuckles. "But I don't have a sword right now, so…" His aura suddenly lit up and he shot towards them with unseen speed. "I haven't been able to use this against anyone yet, but you guys will make great practice!"

Nabiki and Kuno ran around the railing for the stair case and Nabiki glanced in Ranma's direction as the other boy led her away.

"How the heck do you know this place so well, Kuno-chan?" the white haired girl asked.

"I've been here the entire time. I managed to become trick them into thinking I was one of the Royal Guards."

"How did you do that?" Nabiki asked incredulously.

"I am not quite sure, though I believe it is related to my manner of speech." Nabiki blinked and aaccepted that.

"Unfortunately, that only lasted until they discovered I was a human, about a week ago. They now believe I am a human spy."

"Why?" Nabiki asked as they turned at the base of the stairs into another long hall.

"Those who call themselves rebels, from earth, are humans who believe they have a right to the technology and luxury that those on Luna enjoy. For that, they were convinced by an enemy of the Moon Kingdom to attack, alongside creatures of demonic origin." At the end of the long hall, they turned into a hallway that led to an extravagant double door.

"In here," Kuno ran over to the door. "From here, you must open the doors. Beyond this door is an elevator that will take us down into the compound."

"Uh, why me?"

"I will explain later. We must hurry now."

"Okay," Nabiki said as she walked over to the door. There were no visible handles, but when she touched it, it opened.

"Let's go," Kuno said, running in. She nodded and followed him into the room. The two doors started shutting, but before they could two shadows raced into the room after them. The room was a huge, circular chamber and the door led a path that had a circular platform at the end. Nabiki looked down over the edge of the path and saw that the bottom was too far away too see at all. She took a few steps closer to the center of the path and kept in step with Kuno.

"Halt!" Came out an angry voice. They both turned around to see a blonde man and a younger red haired teen standing beside him. "Kuno," The blonde one spat. "I told you that time that if I saw you again I would kill you. This palace has suffered your presence for far longer than was enough!" Kuno seemed to smile as he took a few steps towards them.

"Drakan and Soras." He said in greeting. "I thought I already told you I was not a spy."

"Well then, that's one really weird coincidence," The red haired one said angrily. "Because right after you show up, out of nowhere, contingents of humans and monsters are dropped at our front door!"

"It isn't a coincidence," Kuno admitted. His smile had not dropped at all. "But I had nothing to do with their appearance. As a matter of fact, were it not for them coming, I would never have had to come here myself."

"What is your purpose, if you aren't a spy?" The blonde one said.

"That is classified information." Nabiki looked at the back of his head in confusion. "Nabiki. You will go a head and use the elevator. Once you have reached your destination, you will be able to figure out the rest on your own. You are looking for the ring of the pact." She blinked at him in confusion as he continued talking. "I will hold these two here."

"Like hell you will, human," the red head spat as he unsheathed a rapier. The blonde one nodded and took out an identical sword. "For your actions here, you will die!"

"I think not," Kuno said, his smile still plastered on his face "I am giving you the chance to flee. If you do not, you will regret your actions."

"Die!" the red head screamed as he ran towards the uniformed human boy. Nabiki took that as her cue and turned around, running to the circular platform that Kuno had called an elevator. Once she was safely on, it lit up and shot down with insane speed. Kuno chuckled at the girl's scream and then looked up and held up his wooden sword in time to block a unified thrust attack. They both gaped as their swords each impacted his.

"You don't know what you're up against," Kuno said simply as he pushed against them, knocking them off balance.

Nabiki honestly feared for her life as the platform flew down. She'd had to hold on to the side as it did, or her body would have fallen off.

"Why couldn't it be like the elevator in that space ship!?" She demanded as she looked over the side. The ground was finally visible, but at the speed she was moving down, it was in her face the moment she looked. She blinked and stared at the ground in shock. "I'm not dead?" She thought. "I'm not dead. Of course." She stood up and dusted herself off, looking around. "Okay, he said it would be obvious." She noticed a double door identical to the one they had used before and ran over to it. This one opened automatically, not bothering to wait for her touch. Inside was a huge room with countless valuable artifacts on display. "How the hell is this obvious again?" There was a voice off to the side, and Nabiki turned to look at the source.

There was a floating metal ball with a single red 'eye' looking at her. It repeated it's statement and Nabiki remembered in horror that she did not know the moon language.

"I hope you aren't one of those 'Morphs into a giant security drone if you ignore it' type things," She muttered.

"Negative," It responded. Her eyes widened and she looked at it in confusion.

"You speak Japanese?"

"I do now."

"How?"

"By interfacing with the damaged components on your person, recording your voice and then referring to the damaged component's databases, this unit was able to download a patch that enabled it to converse in your language." Nabiki took a few moments to process that and nodded her understanding.

'That's right, I still have that broken translator thing Kuno gave me,' She thought, remembering the little device in her pocket. She looked up at the floating orb. "Can you help me?"

"Of course, unidentified princess. What do you require of this unit?" Nabiki looked at the machine for a moment before continuing.

'It thinks I'm a princess? That could work out for me.' "I need something here called the ring of the pact," She said. The metal orb's eye turned green and a slot opened, dropping a diamond ring out. She looked at it in surprise. "Uh, thanks?"

"Will that be all, unidentified princess?" Nabiki took a moment to consider the strange way it 'spoke' and sighed.

'Things just get stranger and stranger.' "Um, yeah." She looked around at the valuables in the room. 'I wish I could take some of this stuff with me…' She thought. 'But if I don't go back now, we might not be able to get to our time…' With a last longing look at the treasure room, Nabiki ran out the way she came in and stepped onto the platform. The doors shut behind her and were suddenly covered up with a blue barrier. 'That barrier wasn't there before,' Nabiki noted with a frown. "Whatev-" The platform shot straight up in a blur.

-

Kuno looked at the two soldiers who were sprawled out on the ground before him with an indifferent face.

"I did warn you," He said as he walked over to the blond one. The man looked up at him and scowled.

"Finish me already, knave," The long-eared alien said.

"Nay, it is not to be," Kuno said. "You two will live to see the Moon Kingdom rise again."

"Hmph, pretentious… fool. You speak as if it has already fallen. Your forces… will be destroyed."

"My forces are about to leave," Kuno said. "As I told you, I am not with those people."

"You continue to spew nonsense when it is not necessary," The blond said. "Why?"

"It is only the truth, my friend. See to it that you and Soras live in whatever way possible. One day, I will return for you."

"Who… Are you?" The blond said, finally realizing that Kuno was not just a human spy.

"I was once known simply as the White Lightning of Jupiter."

"W-white lightning?" the blond quickly became confused. "Lord Vladimir is not human…"

"Indeed, for now that one is as you are. I am not, however, that man. We merely share the same soul." Kuno looked up just in time to see Nabiki and the elevator come up from below. "It is time to go." He said. She nodded and carefully walked across the bridge from the elevator to the double doors that led to their freedom.

-

Ranma smirked as he looked at his handiwork. All around him lay the crippled forms of invading humans and piles of dust from the monsters.

"Ranma! We're back!" Ranma turned his head and saw Kuno and Nabiki running up the stairs.

"I had to wait a long time for you guys!"

"Now all we need to do is get the ring of the pact to the prince and we can finally go home." Kuno said. Nabiki held up the diamond ring and Ranma smirked.

"By the way, Kuno, how the hell did you figure all of this stuff out?"

"That can wait until we get home," Nabiki said hurriedly as they ran into the hall that led to the prince's room. Once they were there, they immediately opened the door to see Eliza lying on the bed, still asleep. Kuno and Nabiki kept running, but Ranma stopped and watched for a few seconds before joining everyone else on the balcony.

Dai was waiting there with the Eternal Sword, and Nabiki was giving him the Diamond Ring. Ryoga was leaning against the railing, holding an unconscious Akane up and Kuno was standing there with them. Ranma walked over to Ryoga and was soon joined by Nabiki.

"Where did you guys go? He refused to speak to me," Ryoga said. "He was in a trance for most of it, and then when he came to, he wouldn't tell me anything."

"We had to get one last thing for him to send us to the future." Ranma told him.

"Oh. I thought you had to do it?" Ryoga said.

"I am," Ranma said with a smirk. Ryoga looked at him in confusion.

"But…" Ryoga looked confused.

"Don't worry about it."

"Are you all ready?" Dai's smooth voice came to them. Ranma, Ryoga, Nabiki, and Kuno all looked at him and nodded in the affirmative.

"Yeah, but what will you do?" Ranma asked.

"My mother sent me a telepathic message. The kingdom is already in disrepair. Her senshi are all but fallen and only four of my own knights remain." He closed his eyes. "I am to try and stop the enemy forces with my knights if I can and rebuild the kingdom. She has already accepted her own defeat." His eyes opened again and they were devoid of all emotion. "If I can not succeed in that endeavor, then I am to use a spell with the help of the Eternal Sword that will allow what is left of my knights and my sister as well as myself to transcend time." Ranma, Ryoga and Nabiki stared at him in silence, while Kuno nodded grimly.

"That is most unfortunate."

"Yes. Well." Dai gave them a small smile. "You need not worry about me. Perhaps, one day we will meet again, warriors from the future."

"Perhaps," Kuno said with an equally small smile. Dai nodded.

"Give Miss Akane my regards. And Eliza's as well."

"We will," Ranma said with a nod. Dai nodded back held up the Eternal Sword.

"Eternal Sword, send these people back to from whence they came!" It reacted to his will, and a blue dome of electricity surrounded them all before they suddenly vanished.

The silver haired not-quite-man continued to stand there, with his arm still raised in the air, long after they were gone.

----


	11. Interlude

dis**CLAIMER**: THE WRITER OF THIS STORY, AUTHOR ROY, disOWNS THE RIGHTS TO ALL OF THE STORY ELEMENTS, CHARACTERS, PLACES, NAMES, THEMES, ITEMS, COSTUMES, MARTIAL ARTS, SPELLS, THEME SONGS, PIRATE SWORDS, CREEPY OLD GHOULS, PANTY THIEVES, SOUL DEVOURING DEMONS, THE VERY WORDS WITH WHICH THE STORY IS WRITTEN, A NICE BOAT IN THE PACIFIC, THE KUNO PRIVATE JET, ETC. IN FULL, almost NO EXCEPTIONS.

THE STORY IS not IN A CONSTANT STATE OF REVISION SO AS TO BOLSTER THE QUALITY AND KEEP IT IN PRISTINE CONDITION.

Today kids, you get a glimpse of what everyone else has been doing that day/night. Chronologically, TS has been a VERY slow story; the last seven chapters happened in 4 days. (check my website for a timeline if you're confused, which you probably are: www geocities com/nekoshitaru/TSisslowlol JPG; dots instead of spaces of course)

SM series, I promised I'd be re-watching the series, but I'm feeling that I should stick to the Manga, since it's the source material. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find anything where I can get the manga inexpensively, any help on that would be appreciated (just send a PM with a link to where I can find/buy it; keep in mind that I'm a freshman college student and not some company CEO, and I'll start working on reading the series so as to better work with the characters; going on my years old memories and fandom doesn't do them justice.

Also, chapter is closer to M than T in two scenes; Massacre, foul language

Any horrible errors will be fixed later, I had to get this out by a deadline I set for myself

----

Minutes after Ranma and Co. vanished…

---

In a field of clouds, a bright light appeared before suddenly expanding into a dome-shaped electrical field. There was an explosion of energy and five teenagers, all clad in uniforms of which the solar system had not borne witness to in several millennia, flashed into existence. There was a sudden horrendous screeching noise as the electricity vanished, leaving the teens hovering there for a few short microseconds.

And then began their descent.

-

Tenchi sighed as he sat above the lake beside his house. Things had slowed down considerably since Ryoko had disappeared, and her long absence had affected all of them in one way or another. Washuu put up a strong front, as did Aeka and Noike, but Sasami and Mihoshi had both been notably miserable since she'd left. Tokimi, who seemed to have taken up residence as well, didn't seem to particularly mind, but it could be said that she wasn't as attached as the rest of them. Tenchi had convinced himself for the first two days that she was off screwing around somewhere and would comeback safely, but after a week, he had insisted on going out and looking for her. And several times, they had gone out to where Washuu had last sensed Ryoko's presence. Washuu had told everyone that she couldn't communicate with Ryoko through their link in anyway because it was as if Ryoko's signal had been scrambled and completely re-arranged. The only thing they had been able to find to that point was where it happened. Ryoko could have been anywhere in the universe, and for all of their omnipotence, neither Washuu or her sisters could locate her.

Now, there had still been no sign of Ryoko for almost three weeks. Although Washuu tried to come off as not being worried because she was sure Ryoko could take care of herself, Tenchi knew that she was suffering as much as he or any of the other girls, if not more. Although at first, she seemed to be trying to make the most out of the Ex-Space Pirate's disappearance, more recently, Aeka didn't spend enough time with anyone for Tenchi to really get a handle on how she was taking it, but the few times he saw her she was incredibly worn out and he'd begun to suspect that she was out looking for the ex-space pirate on her own whenever she could.

'Ryoko…' He sat there hunched over, staring at his own reflection. 'Where are you?' He frowned in at the water, and his doppelganger stared back with an equally unpleased look on his face. His introspective mood was not to last, however, as he soon became aware of a noise that, as he listened, sounded more and more like a group of people screaming. His head snapped up to the starry night sky and he blinked as he noticed five humanoid shapes falling towards the lake with great speed. And the moment he looked up, they had already crossed the remaining distance to the surface, all of them landing with spectacular splashes as they fell into the water, each one with a splash varying in size.

Tenchi stood up and bent over the water as he waited for the people who'd fallen into to surface. Soon, a redheaded girl surfaced, followed by another girl with white hair. After the two of them, a brown haired boy floated up, yet remained face down in the water, unmoving. A black piglet followed, just as another white haired girl surfaced the water. The red-haired girl looked around and spotted both of her white haired companions.

"Akane! You're awake!" She called out. One of the white haired girls blinked and looked around in surprise at the voice.

"Ranma!" the white-haired girl practically screamed at the red head. And promptly started splashing. "Help me! I can't swim!"

"Ugh, clumsy tomboy," the redhead, apparently Ranma, muttered. Tenchi managed to hear it only because he was right above her. She started swimming over towards the white haired girl, Akane, Tenchi noted, just as the as of yet unnamed white-haired girl climbed up onto the pier beside him, dragging both the piglet and apparently stunned brown-haired boy. She easily stood up with the boy draped over one shoulder, and the piglet comfortably sitting on another. Tenchi turned to look at them and noted that she and the boy were both clad in an unfamiliar uniform, and she was holding another one in her free hand as the water dripped from them and onto the deck.

"Um," Tenchi started. "Who are you people?" The girl turned her gaze over at him, and he immediately regretting calling her attention to himself. There was a certain gleam in her eyes that reminded him of Washuu before Ryoko's disappearance. It felt as if she was reading him, taking him apart bit by bit and scouring every fiber of his being. Tenchi immediately decided he did not like that look at all and nervously began to fidget under her gaze. She smiled at him, and Tenchi felt his hackles rise even more at the intent behind that look.

Nabiki closely scrutinized the seemingly harmless boy before them. Her newly re-awakened chi senses could discern that there was a decent amount of power hidden in the boy, but it wasn't quite human. It was more like her own chi, but from the weak control she had, that was all she could tell. When the boy suddenly spoke, Nabiki answered with the first thing that came to mind.

"We're tourists," she shrugged as she set the unconscious boy and piglet on the ground. She looked up and saw the house then turned her gaze back over to the boy. "Do you think we could go inside? It'd take a long time to explain." Tenchi blinked at that.

"Sure," Tenchi looked at the two other girls who were also climbing up onto the deck, the unconscious boy, and the piglet. "Sounds like some story, though."

"Oh trust me, it is," Nabiki said. "Hey Ranma, carry doofus here into the house, would you?" she said, motioning towards the limp Kuno.

"You do it. You're the one who's training," Ranma snapped back.

"We're back though, aren't we?" Nabiki asked.

"So? You're still gonna train," Ranma insisted.

"What are you two talking about?" Akane asked.

"We'll explain it later," Ranma said, shrugging it off. She looked over at Tenchi, who watched them with a resigned look on his face. "Uh, for now, do you mind if we use your house real fast?"

"Use my house?" Tenchi asked, before looking over at the place where he lived. "What kind of question is that, 'Use my house?' What do you mean?" Ranma laughed at the confused look on his face.

"Don't worry about it. Do you mind if we do?"

"Well…" Tenchi furrowed his brow in concentration and crossed his arms, deep in thought. Two of the people before him were human, and two of them were half-alien, but all of them actually appeared to be Japanese. From their uniforms, it didn't seem like they were from anywhere on Earth, so he shrugged and gave his assent. "Well, people falling from the sky tend to 'use' my house all the time. What's four more… oh, by the way… weren't there five of you? What happened to the last person?" Tenchi asked, looking up. Ranma and co. were already halfway to the house, and when he asked the question Ranma turned back and nervously laughed again.

"Eh, heh, well… you'll see. Soon, eh heh." Tenchi blinked at that and sighed before following them. The four made it inside and Tenchi was halfway there when the sound of something large falling at great speed washed over him. He turned around and looked up, expecting the familiar shape of Mihoshi's vessel, but seeing something… completely different.

"Half of… an air plane?" Tenchi let his mouth hang a little as he saw the smoking front half of a jet crash into the lake. The ruined craft smashed into the lake with a magnificent splash, but unfortunately, Tenchi was unable to simply stand back and appreciate the magnitude of it as the waves that ensued threatened to smash him. With that in mind, the young prince of Jurai turned tail and ran, yet in his hurry, he tripped and regained balance two times before stumbling over a step and landing face down in the ground just as tons of water pressure bore down on him in the form of a mini-tsunami.

-

Ranma frowned as she poured the hot water over her porcine companion, then as he once again took human form, turned around after handing him his clothes. Once they had walked in, a strange blue haired child with her hair in two streamers had greeted them. Ranma had asked where the bathroom was, and subsequently been led to one. Along the way, they had seen several things that could only be classified as 'strange'.

"Ranma," Ryoga started. "Have you noticed something about this place?"

"Gee, Ryoga, like what? The floating child or that strange rabbit creature?" The neo-girl asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Ranma glanced at the no-longer-lost-boy and gulped before turning back around. "You gonna put the uniform on or what, Mister P?"

"Ranma," Ryoga growled, as he started to put on the pants. He blinked as he considered her reaction and smirked, looking over at her. From his angle, he could see that she was blushing heavily. "Why, you envious or something?" Ranma gagged for a second at that.

"Heck no, chump," she snorted. 'Stupid female body…' The second time she turned around, Ryoga was almost fully dressed and she walked over to the sink to get some hot water for herself. As she turned it on, she splashed her face with gusto… only to realize that she hadn't changed back. "What the heck?" She splashed herself again more thoroughly and groaned when nothing happened. "Crap…it's already been a month… I thought it was takin' a while, too… Then again, I wasn't a girl for most of the trip on the moon, so…" She frowned as she became lost in her own thoughts.

"What?" Ryoga asked as he stood above her. "Already a month? What, does something happen every month that stops you from becoming… a man…" Ranma glanced up at Ryoga to see his face contorting with sheer amusement as it took on a reddish tint.

"You laugh, and I'll make sure Akane remembers to make pork cutlets out of yer butt," She growled, gritting her teeth.

"Why, -snicker- I could never –snicker-, laugh at another _man's _weakness like that, Ranma." He giggled a few more times, before erupting into a full belly laugh. "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA—OOF!" He recoiled as Ranma's elbow sank into the nerve plexus in his chest.

-

Akane, Nabiki, and Kuno were treated to an odd sight as a still female Ranma stormed out of the bathroom, leaving Ryoga to follow her, clutching his solar plexus and half-laughing, half-gagging, half-coughing at the same time. The three looked at Ranma questioningly, but she just walked past them, with Ryoga close behind. The two girls shrugged at that and went after them. Kuno merely thought nothing of it and took one last glance at the bathroom, before noticing the toilet.

'Hmm, that's not your everyday waste disposal device. Looks… off, for this era.' He turned around and went after the three girls and gut-busting, choking boy. When he exited the hall however, the sight that greeted him was entirely unexpected. The room at the end of the hall had three large couches, and two of them were already occupied. On one couch was an odd array of females; One with a particular regal air about her and odd mode of dress as well as purple hair, situated next to the blue haired child that had lead them in earlier. Beside them was a woman with short blue hair, and to the side of the couch was a red haired girl with a floating computer. Floating above her shoulder was some brown haired runt, who was obviously female. Kuno's eyes lingered on the red head, as recognition flashed in his mind.

"Tenchi tells us you fell out of the sky," the redhead stated conversationally. Everyone but Ranma's eyes lingered on the floating child. "Also, would you happen to know anything about the primitive flying device that fell into the lake after you did?"

"Primitive flying device?" Ranma asked, curiously. An image of a hang glider came to her mind as she considered that. Washuu glanced up at them and input some commands in the floating unit before a flat image appeared in the air before them. The front end of the Kuno private Jet was on display before them, most notably it's submerged status.

"That's my plane," Kuno said. "We ah, fell out."

"Your plane?" the boy from earlier spoke up. The five teens turned their heads and noticed the boy from earlier was sitting alone in a comfortable chair that definitely only had room enough for one person. "Aren't you people from space?" Planes were things of humans, after all. Why would aliens need one?

"You could say that," Ranma shrugged. "It's uh, complicated."

"For now, would it be possible to bring that up to the surface? There are people in there," Nabiki suddenly said.

"Of course," Washuu said, typing some more commands. "Who did you say you were again?"

"We didn't," Kuno reminded her. "We're technically from Earth, though we've spent the last month on another planet."

"How did that happen?" The purple haired girl inquired from her position on the couch.

"Like I said, complicated," Ranma said, scratching her head. She shot Kuno a look and then turned back the people before them. "Uh yeah, thanks for letting us use your house by the way."

"No problem," Washuu said. "But just to be sure, are any of you here to look for a young man named Tenchi?"

"Err, not that I know of," Ryoga answered that time, after a moment of confused silence from his companions. The boy from earlier seemed to deflate at that, and settled into a more relaxed pose.

"Right, well, where were you headed?" Washuu asked as most of the people in the room seemed to lose interest. The teens blinked and Ranma had to strain her mind as if remembering something before she could finally answer.

"Fukuoka… right?" She looked back at her companions and they all nodded, confident looks on their faces. "But we'll never get there now…"

"About that," Kuno said as he reached into a pocket, retrieving a compact device. The teens next to him looked at him in surprise. "What?"

"These things have pockets?" Ranma asked in shock as she started patting herself down.

"As I was saying," Kuno frowned as he tried to continue, "We shouldn't have a problem with getting to Fukuoka." He opened the compact and started typing with one hand.

"Why not?" Nabiki asked as she looked at the brown haired boy. "And where the heck did you get that?"

"I made it," Kuno answered her second question first. The teens crowded around him boggled as he continued. "And I don't think Washuu would mind lending us some spare parts…" The red haired girl looked up at him with a raised brow. "She owes me, after all."

"Owe you?" The red haired girl started in an irritated tone. "Look pal…" Kuno looked up from the device in his hands and their eyes met. Washuu's widened with recognition at that and she stopped talking.

"You know her?" Ranma asked, confused, as she looked up at the older teen.

"Of course we know each other!" Ranma, Nabiki, Akane, and Ryoga practically fell over as they noticed Washuu standing right next to Kuno, with an arm wrapped around his waist, squeezing. "We go waaaaaaaaay back!" She took his hand and started dragging him away. "We've got some catching up to do, old boy! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" They disappeared into a hall and the four simply watched as their companion was led away. There was the sound of a door opening and slamming shut, followed by silence.

"Well, that should take care of things," Came a voice from behind them, they all turned around to see the floating child from earlier floating behind them.

"Err, well…" Ranma blinked at that and suddenly, there was a thumping noise on the glass door behind them. They all turned to see a huge, waterlogged panda knocking on the glass door.

"I'll get it," Tenchi rose from his seat and walked over to the door, opening it. "Can I help you…" The panda held up a sign at that point. "…Saotome-san?" The sign flipped over and Tenchi read it aloud. "Your plane crashed in my lake and you were hoping to gather provisions before you set off on your perilous journey? Um, well…I dunno…" Tenchi scratched his head. The girl with blue hair stood up and bounced over to the door, smiling.

"Of course you can come in, Mister Panda!" She opened the door and the Panda walked inside, looking around as everyone stared at it. "Can I get you anything, Mister Panda?" The blue haired girl asked as he stood there. He held up another sign that read –Some hot water please- and the girl nodded. "Okay!" The girl cheerfully walked away, leaving the panda in a room with six oddly garbed and eccentric looking girls and, a similarly dressed man, and an out of place looking teenaged boy, all of whom were staring at him.

"Pop?" The panda's head whipped around and the older man stared at Ranma, who was still wearing her borrowed uniform. "I guess it sent us to the place where we were too. Then that means everyone else should be all right!" Ryoga's eyes widened at that and he shot off like a bullet out the door, nearly bowling over the panda in his way. The panda glared after him but turned back to look at Ranma and held up a new sign

-What the heck is going on, boy? How did you get here?-flip-How did you get those clothes?-

"I'll explain it later pop. I don't wanna have to repeat myself," the girl said with a shrug. The panda looked over Nabiki and Akane, and froze. Just then, the blue haired girl walked back into the room with a glass of steaming hot water.

"Here you go, Mister Panda!" she said politely.

-Thank you little girl.- the panda signed as he accepted the water and promptly upended it over himself. "Ah, that's much better," Said the now man. Most of the people in the room blinked as the huge white and black monstrosity had become an even less friendly looking human wearing a loosely fitting dogi, a pair a glasses, and a white kerchief on his bald head. Only Ranma and the white haired Tendo Sisters seemed unfazed by it at all.

"Err… That isn't common on Earth, is it?" Asked one of the women sitting on the couch. She had a short blue hair that was parted straight down the center and fell rather loosely around her head, and wore a white shirt and gray slacks. Ranma crossed her arms and sighed.

"You wouldn't believe just how common it is…" It was then that she noticed something strange about the woman's sentence. "Um, on Earth?" she repeated, looking at her. It was then that the bald martial artist and Tendo sisters looked over at the people sitting on the couch.

"Err, where are you from, if not Earth, might I ask?" the elder Tendo inquired with a raised brow.

"Most of these kids are from Jurai," came another voice. Washuu and Kuno walked back into the room, both looking rather pleased. "You guys were on the moon just now, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Ranma scratched her head in confusion and her father looked over at her with wide eyes.

"The _moon,_ boy?! How did you…"

"Like I said, long story," the redhead girl yawned and looked around. "Actually, I'm kinda tired now…"

"Yes, you have had a rather long day… Or month, should I say?" The diminutive scientist chuckled. "You four should get some rest…" She looked around as if noticing something for the first time. "Where is the boy who changes into a pig?"

"Uh, he went outside. Probably to see his sister," Ranma said quickly.

"Won't he get lost?" the plump martial artist asked as he lounged in what had formerly been Tenchi's chair. Tenchi noticed that his seat was taken, hung his head and sighed.

"Oh he'll be fine I think," Ranma commented lazily with another yawn.

"Anyway," Washuu started, "I'm sure you ladies are tired, and I'm pretty sure no one else is averse to you all spending the night while I fix your plane,"

"Fix our plane?" Ranma asked, confused. "How the heck are you gonna do that?"

"Don't worry about that, little girl. All you need to know is that it'll be good as new in the morning, M'kay?"

"Hey…" Ranma was about to call attention to her true gender when she suddenly realized that unlike her father, she wouldn't have any way of showing them all without explaining about her embarrassing problem. She frowned and looked out at the ruined thing that was now somehow floating above the water. "…If you say so…"

---

11:32 PM

---

Ami looked at the green haired woman sitting across from her at a small table. The two were at a small café that stayed open late, and as it was in the late hours of night, the place was almost empty save for a few people. A waitress walked by and set down a steaming mug of coffee and an equally hot cup of tea before both of them before walking off to deal with other people.

"You wanted to speak with me about something, Setsuna?" Ami asked as she lifted her cup to her mouth and took a sip of the unsweetened tea. She mentally calculated how much sugar it needed before setting it down back on the table. The other woman had yet to even look at her coffee, however.

"It's about Chibi-Usa," Setsuna said, seemingly staring off into space.

"I'd assumed as much. Did something happen? Why haven't you told Usagi?"

"Crystal Tokyo, or at least the one Chibi-Usa originally came from, is cut off from this world. In essence, the timeline we are now in will never be as it was in her future. Crystal Tokyo, as we know it, is gone." Ami, to her credit, only looked mildly surprised for a second before assuming an indifferent façade. She calmly opened one of the small packets of sugar and poured it into her beverage.

"How did this happen," She said coldly. Setsuna mentally frowned at the other woman's attitude; although Ami was easily the most level headed senshi aside from herself, and of an intellectual mind, she rarely if ever exhibited this sort of behavior. The way it had been said plainly told the much older woman that it was not a question, nor a request to explain, but an order to do so. With no reason to refuse, however, Setsuna could naught but answer.

"Chaos," She replied simply, folding her hands.

"The boys you mentioned earlier, or something else?"

"They're related. I'm not sure how, but several different future 'Sailor Plutos' have warned me that the situation is not as drastic as it seems, and that acting rashly may complicate the situation even more. Most alarming, however, is that one of them was not myself."

"One of them was not you?" Ami asked, frowning. That would mean that someone else had taken her place. "Who was it?"

"She did not identify herself, because it was possible that she was from the future that this timeline would lead to, and my knowing would have changed something. I was forbidden from describing her."

"…" Ami's eyes lost their focus as she mentally went over all of the girls she knew that weren't already senshi. None of them at that point in time seemed likely to be the next Sailor Pluto.

"Ami," Setsuna started, calling the girl back to reality. "The only person we can tell is Chibi-Usa, it is more because they all felt she deserved to know that she'll never be able to go home again. In this future, there exists another to take her place. Sending her there will not do her any favors."

"How did this all happen?" Ami asked with a frown. "How did something destroy millennia old laid out plans in a second?"

"Chaos," The older woman reminded her. "Chaos is unpredictable. There could be even greater changes before we finally reach Crystal Tokyo, if we ever do. As long as the Chaos Emeralds exist in this world, the future will be unclear to me." She said the last part with a shake of her head, indicating her displeasure. "I can see what may happen, but not the definite future. I fear before all this is over, Crystal Tokyo will vanish like the dream it is."

"But…" Ami seemed to realize something as she looked up from her cup. "But, for some, like Chibi-Usa, Crystal Tokyo was already a reality. Are those people missing their Chibi-Usa?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not. There is somewhere, however, a Crystal Tokyo where Chibi-Usa went to our time, and never comes back." She said in a grim tone. "Those people will be missing their Small Lady for certain." Ami nodded with that. That universe's Usagi would probably go mad with grief, and she found herself feeling sorry for the woman she would never know. "It is unfortunate, but we can not reach them now. All we can do is keep Chibi-Usa safe, and get her adjusted to living in this Era, because she is now here to stay."

"You said that you can not predict the absolute future because of Chaos, thought," Ami started thoughtfully. "This means that it is possible that the Crystal Tokyo we know _is_ still a possibility, correct?"

"That is true, but…" Setsuna frowned - she'd thought of that herself as well. "It's unlikely, though. I cannot even see it as a possible future, but just as other, new possibilities have sprung up, while many others merely increased or decreased in chance, it may again become something we can achieve. As things stand now, however, Chaos would have to act again to change the current probabilities to make that one possible again."

"I see…" Both women were silent and Ami absently looked down into her tea. "What about that man from the last night?" Setsuna froze as she seemed to remember something. "That Mazoku?"

"Mazoku…" Setsuna shook her head with a frown as her face took on an intensely frustrated look. "To call one of those… _things_ a man would be an insult to all of humanity. Please do not do it again." Ami merely raised an eyebrow as she took that in. "They were…are the darkest creatures imaginable; literally concentrations of evil given astral form. From the Astral Plane, they project physical bodies into this one so that they can interact with humans or other life forms. They feed off of negative emotions like terror, pain, sorrow, and hate. If we ever meet one of these in combat, Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi Moon will be the only ones that can even faze it. I would advise you to stay as far away from it as possible. If you see it again, you must run, or at least keep it from becoming interested in you."

---

Xellis smirked as he leafed through a positively ancient tome in a quaint looking office. The walls were lined with plaques and framed documents that marked the occupant's achievements. The only window in the room was situated behind the large comfortable leather chair he was in, and was covered up by a fancy maroon curtain. Even though it was only noon, only a marginal amount of light made it through, casting the room in a dreary light. The desk before him had several photos; most of them featured a man in his mid forties whom one could assume to be the true owner of the room, usually with either a slightly younger woman, two children – a boy and a girl, whose most recent pictures showed them in their mid teens, or the man's friends. There were a few other assorted knickknacks and things strewn across the waxed wooden desk, and a few documents could be seen poking out from under his tome.

"Living Armor and Hell Knight are dead, but their being destroyed has invited in an even stronger Mazoku to take their place. Apparently Niflheim is now the Aqua Labyrinth, and the strongest Mazoku there is Magnadeus…" He chuckled at that. "What an utterly arrogant name. Perhaps I shall stop by for a visit. I wonder if he knows what he's getting into…" He closed the book and set it down on the desk before him and smirked, leaning back in his chair. "Ahhhhhhhhh, so much mischief to be made, and so little time to do it with!" He cackled as he went over several plans that were already in progress in his mind. Making Negi's girlfriend more powerful than him, making the senshi worry about him, gathering a huge concentration of power in one city(although that was mostly Konoe's plan, he still gladly took part in it because of the possible carnage), watching Chao make a mess of the world, and random killings when need be. He had a less than pleasant look as he fantasized, not for the first time, Negi's reaction when he found out his new older-brother-figure was a genocidal, evil-consuming demon, of the oldest and worst sort no less… as he was being gutted by him.

His father would have been proud. Which was another thing – unlike other Mazoku, he had a father and a mother, and even a younger sister, but none of them had contacted him as of late. The fact that they were literally worlds away shouldn't have deterred them much – his mother cared for him, which he found extremely odd, and his father had a less than healthy interest in how things proceeded on Aselia.

"I wonder what's going on? It's been over a month now. Did they all die or something?" He muttered the last part a bit excitedly, as if his entire family perishing was not something a major concern to him, but given what he was, it rather wasn't. "Hmm, that's just not possible." He laughed as he abruptly stood up and cheerfully gathered his staff and the musky tome before briskly walking out of the office and into a hallway, stepping over the still, headless body of the office's previous occupant as he crossed the threshold. The fact that the hallway was covered with sprays of blood did not deter him at all as he walked through the hallway with a purpose in mind and a grin on his face.

The blood splatters around on the previously pristine white walls seemed to add a sinister insane quality to his grin as he trudged down the halls, his arcane cloak billowing behind him dramatically from an artificial wind. Limbs and mutilated corpses littered the ground, some of them with their innards spilling out onto the now blood stained floor. He stopped before a door and sighed in ecstasy. The terror that emanated from behind the door was overwhelming in its sheer volume, and he felt like a brand new Mazoku just from being that close to it.

He'd noticed it earlier – one of the secretaries in the building had seen him when his slaughter began, and ran and hid herself in a closed off room that no one would notice if they weren't actively looking for her. Everyone else in the building had died – those who'd tried to escape through the exits found themselves locked in by a barrier of some sort, and others just suddenly exploded, covering nearby victims with their insides and gore. Xellis had merely cheerfully laughed at this part with no more force than one might at a good joke.

But this woman – he'd respected her taking initiative to run somewhere that wasn't obvious. Most of them had just screamed in fear, and others had tried to fight him off with various office equipment. They all seemed to instinctively know what he was the moment he'd started killing, and those who were fighting had been shouting at him to return to the hell from whence he'd come, but their efforts had been futile. This woman, however, had merely stay put the entire time and tried to keep a cool head while her friends and co-workers were butchered with a cruel efficiency and indifference only borne in the most hardened of killers.

"If only you'd run when I put the barriers down, you might have escaped. Too bad." He said as he opened the door and his eyes went over a closet to the side. The fear was palpable now and he assumed that meant that she'd heard his voice. He smiled and raised a hand in a sweeping motion, and the double doors opened outwards, revealing a young woman dressed in proper business attire. She immediately gasped and he slowly made his way over to her. "Don't worry – it won't hurt. For more than an hour…"

Her screams went largely unheard.

---

2:08 AM…

---

Asuna groaned as she looked in the mirror of their bathroom. The girl was in her pajamas standing over the sink and staring into the mirror at the weird symbol on her head. It had appeared after her dream – the one that involved a silver version of the man called Dai, as well as several other people that she did not know, and yet did. A young boy with short, auburn hair, two young men in their early twenties, herself, and another girl with red hair in double ponytails – almost like hers was now, another man with long silver hair, and finally, the oldest – a young man with short black hair and a blonde girl, whose hair was also in twin ponytails, by his side.

Yet one thing was there now – an odd symbol on her forehead that glowed with an unnatural light. Telling Negi was off limits, as he'd try to do who knew what to her, sneeze, and she just knew she'd somehow end up naked again. And Kotarou… he was just as likely to know about it as any other random street thug. She didn't trust Satoshi at all, and the only other person who she had a feeling would know about it was the dark man she'd met in the tree. After staring at it in the mirror for a little while, she'd figured out that she could 'will' it to disappear or reappear with minimum effort. Her ears stayed the same however, which still greatly frustrated her. They looked awkward on her head, as large as they were, but for some reason she could not fathom, they felt more natural than what she'd had before, almost as if someone or something had muffled them before, rather than changing them into something new.

Looking at them still made her feel weird, however, so she turned away as she made the symbol disappear for a final time and walked out of the bathroom and glanced at a digital clock on the wall. It read 2:12 in its blocky green digits, and she sighed as she walked over to a window, leaning on the windowsill. Outside in the distance, the city lights were easily visible. Their apartment was situated in a small urban area that was largely quiet at that time of night, however, and most lights were out already. The only real light came from the moon above and the dark sky. The teen girl stared out at the late night sky with a pensive expression on her face as she contemplated the many recent changes in her life.

There was a sudden loud knock on her door, and Asuna blinked as her head snapped over in the direction of the sound. It came again, several times louder, and Asuna swore she could see several small objects in the room reverberating from the sound. She frowned and walked over to the door, reaching up a hand to the knob just as the person knocked again, even louder than before. Asuna growled and quickly opened the door with her other fist cocked back so as to hit the person, but she froze as she noticed another girl standing opposite of her. The girl was about thirteen, had reddish orange hair, red eyes, a cream-colored tube top and tight fit blue jeans. Asuna found herself wondering why the hell the girl was dressed like that in the first place, late at night as it was, and why someone so young would be up and about, knocking on other people's doors like some insane lunatic.

"Oh hello there," the girl said in a sweet saccharine voice and a wide, cheery smile on her face. "Have you seen this boy?" She held up a picture of a familiar purple haired man, looking much younger than when Asuna had last seen him. "He's my big brother, see, and I'm looking for him… Is something wrong?" The girl asked the last bit with a concerned look. Asuna had stopped listening as she saw the photo; the girl was in the picture with the boy, but did not appear as significantly younger as the boy did. Behind them were two older people who looked liked older versions of them – presumably their parents, and Asuna found herself wondering how someone could have such great likeness with one parent.

"Err…" Asuna suddenly snapped out of it and blinked at the young girl. "Your big brother, you say? What's his name?"

"His name is Xellis," the girl said, re-assuming her pleasant features. Despite her outward appearance, however, Asuna had a growing feeling in the pit of her stomach that reminded her of whenever she was around Satoshi. "He's away from home on a job, see, and I'm here to spend some time with him."

"I see…" Asuna said. "I think I might know who you're talking about. If you can come back in a few hours, he might be here," she said in an empty voice. "G'night…"

"Wait, wait!" the girl called out as she started closing the door. "I was wondering, miss, if you could explain those odd things poking out from the side of your head—" Asuna growled and shut the door hard enough to rattle the wall.

"So that means that girl must be a magi or something, like Negi and Satoshi…Xellis, whatever." Asuna rubbed her temples in annoyance as she walked away from the door. "Great. Just great. Another weirdo in my life."

"Oi, Nee-san," Kotaro's sleepy voice came from the doorway to their small room that was more of a closet with a window that happened to be facing East, and towards the sun whenever it rose over the horizon. "What's all the noise? You get into a fight with a burglar or somethin'?" The young hanyou asked, annoyed.

"No, just some late night crazies running around again, go back to sleep kid," she told him. "I feel a migraine coming on…"

---

Konatsu frowned from his position in the corner as he watched Ukyo's fretful sleep. She had been acting different for a while now – ever since she had crashed Ranma's wedding, He'd noticed that the boy had been spending far less time with any of his fiancées except Akane. The result was that Shampoo had been getting increasingly violent whenever she dealt with her competitors – with the exception of Akane, so as to not incur Ranma's wrath and Ukyo was becoming increasingly nervous. Kodachi hadn't been fazed at all – Konatsu reasoned that it was likely because Ranma rarely spent time with her, and the only time he'd willingly been with her was to prove his manliness over some other girl, the white lily or some such's boyfriend. And even that was a stretch – him being around Kodachi was just a by-product of his manliness competition.

This left the imitation kunoichi in a bind – with his master distressed, it was usually a loyal servant's first instinct to seek out the cause of trouble and eliminate it. But Ranma was Ukyo's childhood friend, and regrettably, her only love interest. The feminine boy smiled sorrowfully as he remembered again how he'd felt when he realized that she would never return his feelings. But even though the chances of them getting together were slim, Konatsu would not abandon her – his loyalty was not so shallow as that. Especially since she had practically saved his life.

The fact that Ranma was not something he could simply eliminate was only a small problem, however. The problem could be fixed several ways, the most obvious of which getting Ranma to fall in love with Ukyo. That was not possible, at this point, though, and Konatsu readily accepted that – whether it was his desire to keep her for himself or not, he wasn't sure why. Even that was not a large problem, as it left several other possible solutions. Getting her to notice other men – even if she would never notice him, was something that was within his ability. Getting her to hate Ranma again was also within his ability, but Ranma had saved him just as much as the girl had and he did not want to set his friends against each other.

"Ran-chan…" the sweating girl before him called out her fiancé's name again, causing Konatsu to stir from within his thoughts. He looked up at the girl as she suddenly sat up with an expression of horror on her face and the beginnings of tears in her eyes. "No… Ran-chan…"

"Another one, Ukyo-sama?" the ninja called out softly from his position in the shadows.

"Konatsu? Where are you?" The girl looked around for a few seconds before she finally caught sight of his silhouette. "Yeah, sugar, but I should be fine if I go back to sleep," the sweating girl said. Konatsu merely nodded and suddenly glanced out the window. "They've been getting bett-"

"I smell blood," He said abruptly. Ukyo's eyes widened in surprise and the ninja leapt for the window, crossing the distance in one bound. "Please stay inside, mistress." He avoided looking at her as he leapt out the open window and onto a nearby roof, moving without stopping, with his hand on a kunai. In the distance, he could see another shape moving across the roofs of the neighborhood at a quick pace. "Another ninja?" He narrowed his eyes as he started closing the distance between them. There were no other active Shinobi in Nerima besides the Kuno's poor excuse for a servant. The other shape suddenly changed directions, towards where Konatsu knew an old abandoned construction site lay. When the other person finally arrived ahead of him, he warily surveyed the shadows of the site before moving in warily. He moved through the shadows with practiced ease as he continued his search for the other shinobi.

After a few moments, just when he thought they'd left while he searched through the area, he heard a voice whisper into his left ear.

"Do you want to become a corpse tonight?" the voice asked seductively. Konatsu could tell right away that it was a male voice, and instead of reacting maintained a calm composure.

"Not really," He answered seriously. "I had no intention of doing such."

"Then why did you follow her, alone, into a place where she could have reinforcements lying in wait? That was very stupid of you, and plenty unprofessional," the voice continued, just as seductively.

"I detected no other presences," The boy said simply.

"That's enough, Satoshi," called out a female voice. "Haven't you had enough for one night?"

"I suppose," the male voice said as it pulled away behind him. "He's not exactly shaking with terror, so there's no point in killing him anyway, it would be boring. And didn't I tell you to stop calling me that when we're alone?" He chuckled and returned his attention to the male ninja before him. "Anyway, what do you want?"

"I want to know why you have come to Nerima," the boy said coolly. "We don't need your sort here. I would not advise staying."

"Our sort?" The man behind him asked, laughter plain in his voice.

"You're obviously not human, and one of you has killed tonight. There's a little old lady nearby who wouldn't take well to knowing there was a demon running around,"

"Oh?" The voice continued, amused. "I believe I've met her already. She wasn't too impressive." Konatsu didn't falter as the man revealed that. "Hmm, perhaps I should stick around? You seem so insistent to have me leave… or is there something you want to protect?"

"I sincerely believe it would be in both of our best interests if you vacated the area," the boy said in a hardened voice.

"Heh, is that right? And what if we don't?"

"I can't say what will happen then."

"Hmm, sounds interesting." Konatsu's face hardened; in his attempt to scare the demon away, he was only making it more interested in staying? What a mess this was becoming. "Perhaps you should leave, you're not going to accomplish anything tonight." The demon chuckled again, and the male kunoichi flinched. He was right. Without a word, Konatsu formed a series of hand signs and vanished in a puff of smoke. "Interesting. Aiko, we might hang around after all."

"Xellis…" Aiko shook her head. "You were careless tonight. Do you want to attract attention to yourself?"

"Yes, actually. What better way to announce that the world is changing than to tell everyone that the Mazoku have returned?"

"Most people will assume you to be a human serial killer," the kunoichi noted. "You were just having fun being sloppy."

"Oh, she's got me," Xellis chuckled again. "Let's head back. It will be morning soon." With that, both shapes vanished.

Above, Konatsu opened his eyes with a deadly look on his face as he considered what he'd overheard before leaving as he analyzed their words. 'We might hang around after all…what better way to announce… that the Mazoku have returned.' Konatsu narrowed his eyes further. 'He knew I was here and is counting on two things to happen. He expects that either I will know what he is and tell Cologne that he is here, or that I will ask her what they are and tell her of this experience.' The boy closed his eyes for a moment before suddenly opening them and taking off towards the Nekohanten. Something told him that this was of utmost importance, and his mistress could afford to wait a little while longer.

---

Sakurada Jun stared at the picture on his desk. The boy had taken to sketching on a whim, and yet he still did not understand how it was that he had proved to be a capable artist right away. He had been able to sketch Shinku incredibly well in under ten minutes on his first try, and the doll had actually been pleasantly surprised when he was finished. She had gone considerably easier on him since then, as long as he drew pictures of her whenever she wanted him to. It wasn't hard – it felt more like the skill had always been there, and he'd found that he was even marginally better at it than he was at sewing. Not that the two were exactly comparable, but it felt as if he was.

This time, he'd spaced out as he started sketching a simple full body self-portrait. He'd started thinking of the strange dreams he'd been having recently, of the magical transformation, and the power it had granted him that one time he'd used it. And just as he'd started thinking of that stuff, his eyelids had started feeling a little heavier, until they were almost shut. And then, he'd woken up with a start, to find that he'd finished his sketch.

Only, he wasn't the only person in the sketch anymore. He was standing at the front of a large group of people – several of them the familiar and yet not familiar people from his dreams – with a grumpy expression on his face. There was a smiling girl his age by his side hanging on to his arm, but when he looked at her, he could not remember having seen her in any of the dreams. There were several other people like that, although most of them were female. The sailor senshi were also there, he realized, as he started recognizing them out of uniform. They were standing all together on the left side of the group, while the people from his dreams stood on another side. Most of the people there except for a few, including himself, were smiling or making wacky expressions at him as he stared back at them.

"I don't get this at all. What's it supposed to mean?" He frowned. How did he know what the senshi wore when they were out of uniform? He'd never met them before. And most of the people on the right side of the picture were guys that he suddenly started recognizing as being from the anonymous source that had been mailed to several news stations across the country. The entire nation was running a special on finding the identities of the people who fought side-by-side with the senshi, and the senshi themselves through those people. He'd know their faces anywhere, especially the one with the dogears, that was totally bizarre.

The boy shook his head in frustration as he failed to get any meaning from the picture at all. Why would he be in a group that consisted of the sailor senshi, some other guys who were probably related to them in some way, and a bunch of other girls he'd never seen before? Especially the one hanging off of his arm… He frowned as he leaned in and tried to take in her features. The way her hair was done, her clothes…

"Jun," came a tired voice. Jun looked over to the side, where his doll was sitting up in her open trunk, a pensive frown on her face. "You've been sitting there sketching that picture for quite a while. Aren't you going to sleep?" Jun opened his mouth to answer, but the sound stopped in his throat as he looked at her. He blinked in confusion several times before looking down at his most recent sketch. "Jun? What's wrong?"

"Shinku…" He stared at the smiling girl hanging onto his arm and bit his lip. It was definitely she, if she had been human and wearing normal clothes. He opened his mouth, but again stopped before he could say anything. He glanced at the clock and found himself not surprised at the time that it read out. 2:52 AM. "Yeah…I'll go to bed. Sorry to make you worry about me…" He said as he stood up and slowly trudged over to his bed with a defeated look in his eyes.

---

5:56 AM

---

Ranma looked out at the horizon as the light of the morning from her position in by the back door. Tenchi and his… family had all proven to be gracious hosts. After everyone from the plane made it safely into Tenchi's living room, which by that point was incredibly crowded, Ranma had explained most of what happened to them from the time they were in Kuno's jet to when they finally made it back. Akane and Kuno, seeing as how they had been separated, threw in their two cents, but their stories all had the same main point: Being sent to the past on the moon for just under a whole month.

Most of the people from the jet, with the exception of it's pilot and co-pilot, who weren't used to the insanity of Ranma's life, had readily accepted the story at face value. Tenchi's group hadn't needed more than a little bit of convincing, and when even Washuu backed up their story talking about some sort of chrono-manipulation residue in the area, everyone quickly believed them. The two groups traded a few stories – although both of them kept a few of the facts, such as Tenchi being an inter-galactic prince, or Ranma's true gender, to themselves, over a grand feast while Washuu and surprisingly Tatewaki Kuno were strangely absent, presumably working repairing the plane, although neither one was willing to share many details.

Now, it was early morning, and Tenchi was standing out on the edge of the of the pier again as he looked up in the sky at something Ranma couldn't see. She'd noticed the boy go outside as she exited the bathroom, and after getting dressed since it was already near morning, decided to check up on him. He was a nice kid – there were some definite parallels in their lives that she'd noticed, although Ranma still felt there were some things that the Masaki family and its guests weren't telling him and his own crew, just the same that she hadn't yet told them about her own curse, or past lives and what not, and she'd taken to him the way one might a sibling.

Unfortunately for Tenchi though, one of his 'Fiancée's had disappeared a while ago while out, and Ranma had a feeling that it would be the same as if Akane had. The disappearance had greatly disrupted their harmony, and even though they hid it well, Ranma could still tell they missed the cyan haired girl she'd only seen in photos.

Ranma sighed and folded her arms behind her head as she walked out behind Tenchi and stood beside him, looking at the slowly brightening sky.

"Yo, Tenchi," she said tiredly. "You okay man?"

"Ah, Ranma," Tenchi turned to smile at the girl and then looked back at the sky. "I'm just wondering if Ryoko is seeing the same sky I am right now…"

"I'm sure she is," Ranma said, with a sad look on her face. 'Gee, this guy's a real downer whenever he thinks about her. She must have been the one or something, huh?'

"Thanks," Tenchi said warmly. "You don't know how much that means to me."

"You worry too much, Tenchi," She said. "From what I've heard of Ryoko, she sounds like she can handle herself. She was a… gangster or something, right?" Ranma finished awkwardly.

"Err, well… When Aeka said she used to be a thug, Ryoko was… well, she was younger, and… misguided," Tenchi said with a strain in his voice and a visible strain in his smile. "Heh, heh…"

"Oh, I know what you mean," Ranma assured him. "I'm sure she's turned around now, and is a great gal, but that kind of life would make a girl tough, right?"

"Like you?" Tenchi asked as he looked down at her.

"N…Y-yeah, like me," Ranma said, chuckling nervously. The two shared a look of understanding and turned back to look at the sun as it peaked over the mountains in the distance. "Man, keepin' secrets is sure hard."

"Heh, yeah," Tenchi agreed.

-

Meanwhile, in the house, a certain purple haired princess was watching the two with anger in her eyes. Aeka fumed and clenched a fist as she stared out at the two teens standing out at the edge of the dock.

"What does that little hussy think she is doing with Tenchi-Sama, looking at a dramatic sunrise like that?" She whispered to herself. "That should be me out there, comforting him, not some stranger who fell out of the sky…" A nearby red-haired scientist laughed chuckled as she said that, and continued typing away.

"Ranma's not a hussy, and she's not out there to catch Tenchi-Kun's heart," Nabiki said from her position in the large chair with a traditional cup of steaming green tea in her hands. The white haired girl took a sip with closed eyes and sighed in pleasure at the taste. The only ones up were her, the two before her, the two kitchen goddesses, and the two nice teen boys with way too much female attention than was healthy that were outside, one of whom was currently female. Even though they were seven people, there were still a great number of people who were sleep.

"Why are you so familiar with him, anyway? You only met Tenchi-sama last night, I do not appreciate your attitude towards him," the purple haired girl said coldly.

"Tenchi-chan said it was okay," Nabiki shrugged, unfazed. Washuu sniggered at that and Nabiki opened her eyes a little to share a conspiratory look with the diminutive scientist. The purple haired princess stuttered for a few moments before frowning and looking out at the pair of teens again, with displeasure evident in her every pore.

"Why is he always so open to other people?"

"You try too hard, dear," Nabiki said right before she took another sip of tea. Aeka glanced at the girl and the hot steaming beverage.

'How can she stand to drink it when it's that hot?' she thought to herself as she looked back outside at the two teens. "What would you know?" the princess asked, somewhat depressed.

"Tenchi is a nice boy. Even with six girls living under his roof, he doesn't lay a finger on any one of them, even though most of them would readily give themselves to him. He's most likely the strongest guy you all know, even though he's really nice, and doesn't often go around abusing his power, if ever. He upholds justice and adheres to a strict honor code, and has something about him that most guys just can't imitate," She said. "Am I right so far?" Aeka blinked at that and looked at her, bewildered. "Trust me dear, the situation is just so familiar I'm barely able to keep from laughing at it all. At least two of the girls after him try too hard and often put the other down, competing with each other for his heart." She took another sip of her tea before speaking again.

"One of the girls is just plain strange, one of the girls says she likes him but in reality only likes to watch his life for the entertainment value, one of the girls is an absolute goddess in the kitchen, and one of the girls is overly violent with him, or was at one point, one of the girls is refined and regal, and the last girl treats him like a genuine human being, rather than a prize to be won. Still with me?" Aeka nodded, dumbfounded. "I'm just guessing here, so it might not be all accurate, but from what I've seen so far, this place fits the bill rather nicely." She took another sip of her tea.

"Err…" Aeka blinked and looked away, feeling somewhat confused. The only person she knew who could quickly and readily form such accurate hypothesis and conclusions like that was Washuu-chan.

"Now, as I was saying earlier, you're trying too hard. I'm guessing you're one of the two more fierce 'competitors' and your usual partner, Ryoko, is the one missing. Am I still right?" Aeka nodded again, this time a bit more slowly, but then noticed that the girl's eyes were still closed. "If you stopped trying to fill in the void that Ryoko has left, and started acting more like yourself, he might notice you."

'H-how is she getting all of this?' Aeka looked at the calm, immovable white-haired girl… no, woman, and frowned.

"Now…" Nabiki did a few mental calculations in her head and nodded to herself, but it was barely noticeable. "Now, normally, I would charge three thousand yen for something like what I just did…" Nabiki said. Aeka tilted her head as she waited for the other girl to finish. "But this situation amuses me. It's free this time. But remember that anything else I do for you, comes with a price tag." The girl calmly sipped more of her steaming tea and Aeka stared at her in amazement.

"I…I see," the girl said, hesitantly. "In any event… there are some things for me to do…" she said in a low voice as she stood up and walked off towards another section of the house.

"Hm hm, that was mildly amusing," the red-haired scientist said as she halted her typing in the floating virtual laptop. "Which one of those girls is the one who's just watching for the entertainment value?" Nabiki smiled lightly at that and merely opened her eyes to look at the seemingly younger girl.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about," She said simply.

"Oh ho?" The red-head chuckled again. 'You have an interesting life ahead of you, girl. I think I'll keep an eye on this one…'

---

Touya looked out at the rising sun from the roof of his house, as he reclined on his back. The morning breeze was refreshing, the sun wasn't too bright, to look at yet, as most of it wasn't even visible, and the sky was a nice bluish hue with moderate cloud coverage, but none of the clouds appeared to indicate rain in the near future. All in all, it was a good day for a run, and he was just planning on doing that – cross-country. After all, it was only a little while before he and/or Shadow were identified in the video that had been given to the media, and none of the Chaos Emeralds had been found in Japan yet, for all their searching. It was time to move on again, and continue their search elsewhere, but for some reason Shadow felt insistent that there was something keeping them in Japan. Touya blinked as he heard a window opening to his side and as he looked out he saw Chibi-Usa climb out of her window into a tree and shut it behind her.

"Oiiii! Ne, Chibi-Usa, ain't it a bit early to be sneakin' away from home like that?" He asked exasperatedly. The girl merely looked at him, then waved in acknowledgement, and jumped down from the tree, taking off down the street. "Mattaku, that girl is really rebellious… She must have had a sheltered life or something…"

"Sonic." Shadow's voice sounded from above him and he looked up. Standing behind his head, and looking down at him was Shadow. "I have found one." Touya was instantly on his heels and stretching, preparing to go after the Chaos Emerald.

"Awesome! When do we go?"

"Right now, of course. It's on one of the Western Islands. Try to keep up." The black haired boy took off in a blur, leaving the other behind.

"All right, that's what I'm talking about, some real progress!" The blue haired boy smirked as he followed in an equally fast blur.

---

7:22 AM…

---

Pallas looked at the black haired man who stood before him with a scowl on his face. The two were standing in the midst of the glowing branches of the world tree at Mahora.

"Dai, you look less than pleased to see me. Is something the matter?" the silver haired elf spoke with mild amusement in his voice.

"Get out of my sight," the Ranma look-alike growled. "I don't need your interference here."

"Lloyd told me to watch you," Pallas said calmly. "That includes overseeing how you go about raising your little group of knights back into power."

"Why don't you just go tell that arrogant blowhard to fuck himself? You want to be here as much as I want you here,"

"On the contrary, I find this to be quite amusing." Pallas laughed. "And Lloyd is too stupid to be anything like that. He's not another Mithos." The elf sighed as he looked around at the tree they were in. "The only one of your knights lucky enough to be reborn as a Lunarian, and she's completely untrained. As is Soren. And four of them still haven't awakened! Really, how can you hope to compare to the senshi?" Dai grit his teeth and his eyes flashed a dangerous red. "Now now, don't do anything rash. I could destroy you with a thought, remember?"

"I could destroy you with a thought," the man dressed in all black mocked the elf before him with a scowl.

"Heh heh," Pallas merely laughed.

"The senshi have experience with fighting, this is true. But it does not compare to that of Vladimir, Emilio, and especially my own reincarnations."

"But unlike the senshi, your power rests only in your techniques. Your transformations are much weaker than theirs," Pallas reminded him. "What do you hope to accomplish by raising the knights of the Astral again? You can do nothing but annoy those who are more powerful than you. You should know that by now."

"I will…" Dai scowled at the other man. "I will definitely prevent Crystal Tokyo. That hellish place must not come to be!"

"That depends on who you are asking." Pallas pointed out.

"You people are aware of the eventual fall out that will occur if Crystal Tokyo comes to pass, right?!" He demanded, as he held up his hand and summoned the eternal sword. "I have seen this truth with my own eyes, you fool!"

"Perhaps, but who is to say you should be in control of the future, instead of the senshi?"

"No one," Dai admitted. "But leaving it in their hands is a recipe for disaster." Pallas merely shook his head.

"You cannot defeat the senshi." Dai growled at that.

"Watch me," He said as he shimmered and vanished. Pallas sighed and cradled his head in his hands with a frustrated look.

-

Chibi-Usa waded through the sea of people with a smirk as she aimlessly wandered throughout the city. Things had taken a ridiculous turn since the anonymous person had mailed in that tape to news stations around the country; there was a new, or more rather, revived hype as people started focusing again on trying to identify the senshi, and their unknown assistants. People like Ranma had already been identified though, and it was seen as only a short time before the identities of the senshi was finally cracked, after the four years since their first appearance. People had written _books_ with theories on the senshi, as well as their identities and purpose. Only one had come even remotely close, and while the senshi didn't plan on taking over the world by force, they would still be its rulers in the end.

She'd gone to the Tendo Dojo, only to find that Ranma and his family had abandoned ship, so to speak, at that point. 'It's not like it matters. The whole country is in an uproar over their identities now, and soon probably the world. They could go to Hokkaido and still be recognized at the drop of a hat.' The girl laughed to herself, suddenly glad for the protection that their senshi fuku offered them. It would be fun to watch Ranma handle being a celebrity, though, she thought. As she walked through the crowded sidewalks, the girl smiled as she looked up and saw a large picture of Ranma fighting someone on a billboard. Apparently, more footage of his various fights were still rolling in from somewhere-- she stopped with a frown on her face as the familiar feeling of being watched came over her. She turned her head to find a man in all black and almost stumbled in surprise. They were stopped at the corner to a busy intersection, and people easily walked around the two of them on their way to wherever their destinations happened to be.

"You… You're—" She backed away in horror as she involuntarily suffered a flashback of Ranma, wearing the same evil grin that the one before her had, crippled her and Usagi with the greatest of ease.

"Hello little girl," Dai said with a huge grin splayed across his face. "You been a good girl since last time we met?"

"Damn you!" Chibi-Usa scowled at him as she reached into her pocket.

"You'll transform right here, in front of all these nice people?" he motioned with his arms all of the people around them going about their business, although a few were beginning to watch them. "Go ahead, Sailor Chibi-Moon. Do it. I dare you." He smirked and Chibi-Usa started sweating nervously as some of the people started watching them more intently with that. She could practically see the more attentive ones bypassing the magic blocks in their mind, as they started to associate her with the familiar image of an identical girl in a sailor seifuku. "That's right. You can't, not here, not now."

"You're wrong about that," Chibi-Usa replied with a glare. "Not can't. _Won't._ Don't push me." Her eyes shot from left to right as she looked around at just how many people were watching them. 'What with the new publicity we've been getting, a lot more people are interested in this than should be… damn…'

"Oh ho, she bites," Dai commented with an appreciative look. "But I'm calling your bluff. I'll tell you what I came to tell you and go. How's that sound?" Chibi-Usa was taken aback as he directly addressed her. "Crystal Tokyo is gone." He continued without really waiting for a response, his grin widening.

"Wh-what?" The girl asked, surprised. "H-how the hell do you know about that?!" 'Ranma doesn't know anything about Crystal Tokyo, so how does this guy?!'

"You destroyed it yourself," He said, ignoring her question. "When you used that Chaos Emerald."

"W-what? But that was to save my life! How… how can I have damaged the timeline that way?"

"Beats the hell out of me. All I know is that you'll never see your mommy or daddy again," He said with an unconcerned shrug. "You'd better get used to this place."

"You're stupid if you think I'll believe you!" She growled. "I still exist, so…"

"Hahaha, whatever little girl. Ask Setsuna, she's been keeping it from you, trying to figure out how deliver the information to you in a way that will allow her to use you to reclaim Crystal Tokyo, or some agreeable offshoot of it. Heh, see ya, kid!" He smirked and turned around to walk away, before waving over his shoulder with a grin. The pink haired girl merely watched him, with some small amount of doubt bubbling in her heart.

"Wait! Who the hell are you, anyway?!" She demanded as he got further away. Her answer was silence, and as she started after him with determination written on her face, he vanished into a group of people. She growled and rapidly whipped her head around in a futile effort to find him, as if he would suddenly appear somewhere else in the crowd, and cursed again when she realized that she had lost him.

Meanwhile, not too particularly far away, the man in black smirked as he continued walking, and people walking towards him made a visible effort to stay out of his way.

"Heh, the seeds of distrust have been sown. Well then, Sailor Pluto, let's see, how you will handle this curveball?" He chuckled to himself as he continued on his way. 'Now, I've got to figure out a way to kill Xellis once his use to me is over. Mazoku are too dangerous to allow running around. But for now…' He smirked as he walked into an alley and vanished into the shadows. '… He can continue to be useful.'

----

There was more that I wanted to add, but it didn't feel like it belonged in this chapter.

Next Chapter: Who will Ranma & Co. run into at Fukuoka? What adventures

Will they have there, and what of Xellis' killing spree? Will it go unnoticed,

or will someone fight back? And what of the Chaos Emerald that Shadow

has found in the "Western Islands"?

Find out text nime, on _Töttoru Shaku Ji!_


	12. Flow

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters/settings/etc. used in this story unless otherwise mentioned.

Please tell me about any errors you find, that'd be greatly appreciated.

-X-X-X-

"Dai," Xellis said to his partner. The two were standing amidst the tree branches of the Yggdrasil. "I have found it."

"Found what?" Dai asked irritably. Sometimes, the purple haired Mazoku could be incredibly vague. Dai wondered if it was just a quirk or if he was actually unaware.

"The cure, of course."

"The cure…? What nonsense do you speak of, man?" Dai demanded.

"The cure! The cure for your curse," Xellis said cheerfully. "I've found it."

"Which curse are you talking about?" Dai asked calmly. "There are many."

"The most recent two," Xellis said with a smile. "It resides within a boy by the name of Sakai Yuuji. He is currently with two flame haze, and en route to Tokyo to meet with me, Negi, and Evangeline's group, as per old man Konoe's orders."

"Within?" Dai narrowed his eyes. "How do I get this thing from him? And for the love of my mother, could you _please_ be more specific about which two curses you're talking about?"

"The girl curse and the body you must share with your sister. As for the cure, you must retrieve it from him, of course."

"Xellis…" Dai sighed. "Retrieve how? And I'm telling you right now that sharing a body with my sister is not a curse."

"True, but with the Reiji Maigo, you can both be separated without worrying about having your souls be destroyed. It's much more powerful than you are."

"Reiji Maigo, right. I'll look into that," Dai said calmly. "Now, exactly how am I to retrieve it from him?" He demanded. Xellis merely smiled and held up a finger, causing Dai to frown.

"I'll leave that to you," Xellis said as he fell backwards, off of the tree branch he was on. Dai didn't have to look down to know that the Mazoku had vanished. The black haired man merely frowned.

"It's been a month for her. I'll have to merge with her sometime in the next week to avoid incurring permanent damage. But…" He looked up into the branches above him, and could see the moon in the morning sky from where he was. "Would it be a crime to want a separate body again?"

-X-X-X-

Jun stared at the television screen in contemplation.

On the screen was a news bulletin about a brutal massacre that had happened in some office in another district. Everyone inside the building had been slaughtered, in various and creative ways. It was as if the killer had been playing an innocent game rather than committing a cold-blooded crime of the worst degree. Jun wasn't interested in the details, though a few of them did slip through to him.

No, the thing he was interested in was the sketch in his hands. He did not need to look at it to see the sinister smirk on the man's bloodstained face. The image was seared into his memory. He had had another vision; in it, a the man was slowly taking apart a small child. The screaming got louder and louder throughout the ordeal, and as the monster dismembered the child's small body piece by piece, he'd done something to keep the poor thing from dying right away. The child's screams hadn't stopped until his chest exploded, spraying the area with blood, and even then Jun wasn't sure if it was because the child was dead, or if he simply did not have the lungs necessary for it.

But there hadn't been any children in this killing spree. Was there a child lying somewhere in Tokyo, limbs ripped apart and face fixed in an expression of pain, horror, and suffering? Jun wanted to think that if there was, it would have been found by now. But a nagging feeling told him that it wasn't like that.

He looked down at the sketch in his hands. Had it happened in the past? Was it something that was yet to happen? He didn't know, and he really didn't want to care. But try as he might, he couldn't ignore the fact that there was some monster with an unholy power going around and killing innocent people. He wanted to believe the Sailor Senshi would handle it, but he really didn't. The senshi dealt with monsters that were far more obvious, and from what he knew, it was likely they wouldn't try to use lethal force on this monster.

But Jun knew that there was no way they could avoid using lethal force. This bastard's time on Earth was up, that was that. But who else would carry out such an order? Carrying weapons was illegal for the Japanese anyway, and from what he'd seen in his sketch of this monster, there was no way conventional weapons would work on it.

That left one choice. He did not like it at all.

"Shinku," He started as he stood up. "I'm going out."

The doll looked up at him, surprised.

"Jun-kun? What do you mean, you are going out?"

"I've got some places to go," He said, glancing at the television. The office was in a different district, but he could take a train.

"You mean, you're going outside?" She asked, looking at him in astonishment.

"Yeah. Do you have a problem?" He asked, with a daring look.

"No… But it's not like you to go outside."

"It's something that has been bothering me for a few days, actually." He walked over to the door and started putting on his shoes. "Since that night…" Once he tied the shoe laces, he reached up to the coat rack and grabbed a large black trench coat and matching fedora. He grabbed some sunglasses that were sitting on top of the rack and put them on, then turned over to look at the doll. "How do I look? Okay?" The doll could only stare at him for the first few seconds before she was able to register that she'd been asked a question.

"You look fine," She said, not wanting to discourage him from going outside. "But won't you be hot in that?"

"I don't want anyone to see me." He said.

"Well, people will definitely see you."

"Yes, but they won't be seeing _me_," he turned towards the door. "I'd invite you to come with me, but it would probably be boring for you." He opened the door and walked out, shutting it behind himself.

-X-X-X-

Asuna looked down at the two boys as she followed behind them on the crowded sidewalk. They were all wearing their most casual clothing.

"So you think this murderer might be connected to that energy?" Asuna asked the young magi. The boy nodded, even though she was looking at the back of his head.

"Yes. The way those people were killed was not something an ordinary human could do." Asuna didn't even bother to hide the loud, disappointed sigh as she followed him. She had been distinctly hoping he'd say '_No',_ but apparently that was not to be. "I don't think it was a magi, either, though," He said. "But we're going to the site to see what we can learn of it."

"Yeah. Let's go to the site of the crime. You know, the place the criminal always returns to." She shuddered. Kagurazaka Asuna did not really care for meeting insane serial killers. Especially inhuman ones.

"Don't worry about it, Ane-san. It ain't nothing those big antennas of yours can't handle," Kotarou quipped. "He comes after us and you can cut him-"

"Come here you little brat!" Asuna growled out as she tried to grab the hybrid by his hair. Kotarou snorted and jumped out of the way before she could latch on to him. "If you don't shut up, you little mongrel, you'll be eating your doggy biscuits through a straw," She growled out.

"You'll have to catch me first, elf," He snorted as he took off running. Negi sighed and stopped walking as he watched the girl give chase.

"We're on the job, you two," He muttered, even though neither one heard him. 'Oh well. I'll just summon Asuna-san when I get there…' He sighed and started walking again. Hopefully no one would think much of a ten year old walking all by his lonesome in the city area.

-X-X-X-

Cologne closed her eyes as the television relayed a message she had been expecting to hear that morning. In truth, she'd hoped that Konatsu had been mistaken when he'd claimed to have run into a demon calling itself a Mazoku, but there was now solid evidence of such a creature running about. The old woman sent a quick prayer to all of the poor souls whose lives had been ruthlessly ended by what could not be any less than a demon as the solemn woman on her small television set relayed yet again, the deathtoll of a scene in downtown Tokyo.

"Great Grandmother," Shampoo's voice came from behind her. "This is why our sisters are on their way here?"

"Haven't I told you to speak Japanese as long as you're here?" the older woman snapped. "And yes, this is why our strongest warriors are coming to join us. Ranma can't fight a Mazoku alone, they're on a completely different level than even Saffron." Shampoo didn't say anything for a short while after that.

"But we can win, right?" The younger girl fidgeted for a moment.

"At this point, it's just one. It is definitely possible for us to destroy it. However, this will take an amount of magic that even the Amazon's predecessors were unable to use for millennia. An old friend of mine was able to get us some sensitive information, regarding the world as a whole, however, and it seems that we will not be alone for this battle." Shampoo didn't answer that. "Your break is almost over. Get back to work."

"Yes, Great Grandmother." The young girl nodded at that and turned to leave the elder to herself.

"It really is unfortunate that Ranma defeated Saffron so soundly, or he might have been a help at this point…" The old woman shook her head. "He would have known the dangers Mazoku pose to us all. As it stands, The Musk are the only ones who can afford to send their forces so far away from base right now…"

-X-X-X-

Ranma looked at the rebuilt airplane in awe. She, Washuu, and Nabiki were standing in a clearing not too far away from the house, where the plane was sitting, looking relatively newer than it had been when Ranma last saw it. 'How did they do this so fast?'

"It only looks like an airplane now," Washuu said proudly. "In truth, it's an intergalactic space cruiser! Watch!" She typed a few commands into her computer and the wings folded back, so that the tips were pointed behind the plane. "I think it's primitive looking, but he wanted to avoid making it too much better than before," the scientist commented as the wing tips lit up. "It even has a piloting AI. It can still be manually piloted, of course!"

"Right. Does this mean that I'm out a job?" Everyone turned to look at the man who stood there. It was a young man with long brown hair, dressed in casual clothing.

"Oh, I don't think so," Washuu said with a wink.

"Yeah, Kuno should need someone to keep up appearances for a little while at least,"

"That's good," The man sighed. "I kind of need the money."

"Who's this guy?" Ranma asked, pointing at him.

"You don't know?" Nabiki asked, giving Ranma a sharp look. "That's Higurashi-san, he was the pilot of Kuno's plane,"

"Oh?" Ranma blinked. "I didn't notice him before." Nabiki rolled her eyes at that.

"That's just like you." Washuu smiled at the byplay and turned her attention to Higurashi.

"You seem to be taking this all well, for a normal person."

"Normal person?" Higurashi chuckled. "I had my share of adventures in my youth. This is not too surprising."

"I'm sure you did." Washuu grinned at him, and he sighed.

"I've actually been waiting for someone to appear and make things worse again."

"Really now?"

"Time travel," He shrugged. The two teens looked at him when he said that. "What? You guys did it before. Can't people I know do it too?"

"You're from Nerima then?"

"Well, I live there now," he said with a shrug. "Though the only thing keeping me is my job, really…" He muttered.

"Eh-heh," Ranma chuckled while rubbing the back of his head.

"Anyway," Nabiki started, "As long as it's as comfortable inside now as it was before."

"Oh, sure it is." Washuu assured her.

"Then," the white haired girl continued, "It should be rather easy to convince anyone who sees it that it's a regular airplane, right?"

"Yup, as per your requests," Washuu nodded, typing in more commands to her ever present. The wings all folded back out and it looked more like a normal jet then.

"I'll admit that I'm impressed," Higurashi said, looking up at the machine.

"Heh! If that's all, then let's go back. Breakfast should be ready by now, even as big as it must be."

"Yeah, Kasumi and Sasami-chan said we'd have to eat outside because there wasn't enough space inside the house," Ranma said, as if remembering something.

"That's fine, it's a relatively nice day out," Nabiki said as she shielded her eyes with an arm and looked up into the bright blue sky. "We should be okay eating outside."

-X-X-X-

Just before the meal could get started, Soun pulled Genma into a secluded room to speak with him alone.

"Tendo, there was something you wanted to tell me?" The bald martial artist asked as he sat across from the long haired mustachioed man he called his best friend.

"Yes, Saotome, it's about the girls," The other man said tiredly. "You have noticed the changes, have you not?"

"Of course, Tendo. It reminds me of when we met your late wife," The man said. "Could it be that perhaps…"

"I believe they have finally matured, Saotome. She told me this day would come, when she was on her deathbed… But I do not believe I am prepared to tell them the truth about their heritage…"

"It should not be too hard, Tendo. They have experienced stranger things,"

"But to learn that you are not completely human, Saotome?" The other man said, distraught.

"They should not be anything but proud of what they are, Tendo." The other man said encouragingly.

"You are right…" The mustachioed martial artist sighed and closed his eyes.

"Something bothers me, though, Tendo," Genma said with a puzzled look on his face. "Why would your two younger daughters experience the change when Kasumi has not?"

"That confuses me as well, though Kimiko said it could be variable for all of them. I do not believe it will be long before Kasumi follows, however."

"Hmm…"

-X-X-X-

Sailor Moon fought to keep her stomach from emptying itself as she and the other senshi, sans Chibi-Moon, surveyed the building in which the crime had taken place. Although the Senshi were not prone to public appearances, Usagi had been able to convince her friends to use their alter egos to get into the building so they could see first hand what had happened. Though what was left of the bodies had already been cleared out, the officials were not about to refuse the Senshi's request to join the case.

Usagi stared wordlessly at the huge sprays of blood and gore that marred the walls. She could feel the pain and suffering resonating in the room, and it left her with a cold, nauseating feeling.

"It was definitely the Mazoku," Ami's voice rang out. "It's the same residual energy as that night."

"I didn't think it would come to this so fast…" Setsuna said.

"Their souls cry out in pain," Usagi said suddenly. Most of the senshi turned to look at her. "I can feel it. They have not moved on… There is so much hate here, so much sorrow…" Rei nodded solemnly.

"We have to purify this area before they can move on."

"What are we going to do about the Mazoku, though?" Makoto asked. "We've got to stop this thing before it strikes again."

"That's right," Usagi said. "I won't let it harm another human being." She turned to face Ami. "Sailor Mercury, can you trace its location?" She asked. The girl bit her lip and nodded.

"Yes… however, I do not believe a direct confrontation would be advisable."

"What?" Makoto demanded. "What do you mean? We've got to kill it some how, how are we going to do that if we don't fight it?" Setsuna shook her head at that.

"We do not possess the power necessary to casually walk into battle with a Mazoku. There are some who might, but to awaken them…" She sighed and shook her head. "It's a lose-lose situation."

"Then we make a decision," Usagi declared, bringing her authority to bear. "Which of the two is the lesser evils, Sailor Pluto?"

"That's easy, whoever didn't do this," Minako said angrily. There was general agreement amongst the senshi as all of the senshi present save for Usagi, Ami, and Setsuna gave verbal agreements to that.

"You say that now, but…" Setsuna sighed. "You don't know these people. Or rather, you don't remember them." The other senshi all looked at her in surprise. "It's because your memories concerning these individuals was locked by their leader…" She started, turning to look Usagi in the eyes. "…The prince of the moon, and Princess Serenity's younger brother, currently known as Saotome Ranma." Most of the girls missed the significance of the last statement, and while all were surprised none of them were as shocked as Usagi.

"W-what? What do you mean, Setsuna?" Usagi asked, surprised enough to forget that they were supposed to be using their senshi names.

"Exactly what I said. Ranma Saotome is the reincarnated prince of the Moon, and at the time lead a group of people who equaled the senshi in power. But all of his knights were more loyal to him than the queen, because he was the one who created the group."

"Rivaled the senshi in power…" Ami muttered. Setsuna glanced at her, but didn't say anything outright.

"So Ranma-kun is the reincarnation of my brother," Usagi started calmly. "Why wasn't I told of this? You had to have known of his visits to my house."

"I had not hoped to get him involved…" Setsuna started. "Your brother was… _is_ headstrong, determined, and very driven. In the Silver Millennium, he was a little more reserved than he is now, but the events leading to your deaths changed him."

"I see," Usagi nodded. She knew what kind of boy Ranma was. Ranma was the kind of guy who always tried his best, and always won in the end. He didn't accept defeat. Death, to him, was likely the ultimate defeat, and it had been forced on him in circumstances he had been powerless to change. As she thought about it, she found herself expecting him to be more embittered than he seemed to be.

"There is also the matter that his soul has merged with that of his twin sister," Setsuna added. Everyone did a double take and Usagi stared at her older friend.

"Twin sister?" She was finally able to ask after a short while. "Please don't tell me she's the leader of some obscure cult, and that's why you couldn't tell me about her,"

"Actually, it was the fact that since she has merged with her twin brother, that would have lead to you finding out about him."

"I see…" Usagi nodded. So she had two reincarnated siblings, who were actually now one sibling. They, or _he_, rather… or actually… 'Well there's irony for you.' "How did this happen?" The princess asked simply.

"It was the boy's fault. He made a foolish mistake, and their souls were bound together because of it."

-X-X-X-

"Breakfast was amazing, you two," Ranma said as soon as she was in the kitchen. The girl was carrying a large stack of plates that were to be washed.

"Oh, thank you, Ranma-kun." Kasumi smiled at the younger girl, who set the stack of dishes down on the counter.

"Yeah, thanks!" The younger Sasami also smiled in earnest at the red-head.

"Heh, no problem," Ranma said with a smirk. "Oh, by the way, Kasumi, your pop said he wanted to see you."

"Ah, okay… After the dishes…" The girl said.

"Nah, I'll take care of that for you." Ranma said.

"Really? That's hardly necessary, Ranma-kun."

"Well, he said it was very important," Ranma shrugged sheepishly. "If you really wanna, you can come back when you're done and help."

"Ah… If that's the case…" Kasumi smiled at him. "I'll be sure to hurry back."

"Heh, well go on, don't worry about me." The younger girl pulled up her sleeves and turned on the sink.

"Okay, I'll be back in a little while you two," Kasumi said as she walked away. When she was finally out of the room, Ranma looked up at the stack of dishes, then down at Sasami, who only smiled at him.

"You'd think there was an easier way to do this."

"Don't worry, we'll get it done in no time!"

-X-X-X-

The Tendo patriarch looked over his three daughters with a tense look on his face. The three were gathered in Tenchi's room, as Tenchi had offered to let them have their discussion in there, since it was out of the way.

"Well? What is it daddy?" Nabiki asked.

"Hmm…" Their father's tense look didn't change.

"I remember the last time you called together a meeting like this…" Kasumi said in a low voice. "Could it be that there's something else you haven't told us?"

"W-well…" The older man looked pained at that.

"You don't have to be like that Kasumi," Akane said.

"She does have a point though, sis," Nabiki said. "At this point, I wouldn't be too surprised if he told us that we were aliens or something." Soun choked on his breath when she said that and all three sisters were surprised at his reaction. Nabiki was the first to speak up. "Don't tell me… we ARE aliens?" She demanded.

"N-not quite…" The older man said somberly.

"Not quite!?" Akane's shout surprised the others. "What are you saying?!"

"W-well… Your mother… Kimiko-chan…" The man hesitated for a moment. "…was not human." The three girls stared at him. Soun tried to gauge their reactions, but he couldn't read them like he used to; the girls had grown up and away from him over the years.

Ranma's voice could be heard yelling outside, quickly followed by Ryouga's. There was a crash and the house shook, before the sound of water hitting the side of the house reached them, but Soun was the only one who seemed to notice any of it at all.

"Oh… oh dear," Kasumi finally spoke up.

"I thought I was ready to hear something like that, but I guess I wasn't," Nabiki said, her older sister's voice having brought her back to reality. She looked at Soun with a frown on her face. "Okay, so mother wasn't human. If that's true, then what was she? If not an alien?"

"Well… Kimiko-chan… she was born on Earth, but… From my understanding of the situation, her people are descended from a race of people that lived on the moon many years ago, when Earth was still fairly primitive…"

"From your understanding? You mean you don't know everything about us?" Akane asked.

"I don't," he started, "But apparently, before they lived on the moon, they lived on Earth…"

"That has nothing to do with this." Nabiki said. "What matters right now is how exactly this effects us. Why are you telling us this now? I mean, I'm sure you had a reason, however stupid it may have been, to hide it from us, but why tell us now?"

"Well," Soun looked over Akane and Nabiki. "It's true that we wanted to hide it from you, but your mother's traits are starting to show."

"What do you mean?" Akane asked suspiciously.

"Your… facial features," He started. "I'm sure you've noticed the obvious changes…"

"Well of course, but…" Nabiki blinked at that. "What does that have to do with this?"

"That is how you naturally look. Your mother placed a seal on each of you when you were born that kept you from looking inhuman, to protect you. I don't understand much about how it works, but she did explain to me that one day it would not work on you."

"So you're saying that our hair was never really black, that that was just an illusion?"

"No, it's not that it was an illusion. She put a limiting seal on your inhuman heritage so that you would look as if you were born human, but it's worn off."

"Why would it wear off?" Kasumi asked. "And if it's true, then why hasn't mine?"

"That… I… I don't know," Soun said.

"A trigger," Akane said suddenly. She looked at Nabiki. "Something happened to the two of us that didn't happen to Kasumi."

"That's right," Nabiki said, remembering how her own features had changed. After those more obvious changes… Nabiki's eyes lit up. "Ranma!"

"What's that?" Akane asked. Everyone was looking at Nabiki.

"Ranma and Ryouga, maybe even Kuno… they should know something. They're reincarnated Lunarians!" Soun and Kasumi blinked at that, and Akane's eyes widened

"That's right!" The youngest sister stood up and she ran over to the door. "I'll go get them!"

-X-X-X-

Ranma looked at a soaking wet Tenchi, who was sitting on a step overlooking the lake. Both, along with Ryouga, were sitting outside in the warm sunlight.

"Well, I guess it's lucky her spaceship ran out of fuel above the lake instead of the ground," Ranma said with a shrug.

"Yeah… Lucky…"

"It was. I mean, it could have run out above the house," Ryouga pointed out.

"I guess," Tenchi agreed. "Still, she's not even supposed to be flying the thing in front of guests…"

"Oh, don't worry, our friends and family have seen weirder things than aliens, and we're kind of desensitized ourselves." Ryouga said. "So, Jurai, huh? I always thought that tradition of taking their princes to primitive planets like this to grow up was odd."

"Heh, well…"

"Ranma! Ryouga!" Both turned around to see Akane standing at the glass sliding door. "You've got to come here! There's something really important we have to ask you guys!"

"Actually, it will have to wait," Kuno said as he walked up behind her. "We are to depart this estate in a few minutes." Akane turned to look at him.

"Well, we can talk about it on the plane." Ranma offered.

"I'll go tell them then," Akane said.

"So you're leaving, huh?" Tenchi asked, looking up at his two guests.

"Looks like it. It was sure fun meeting you guys, I gotta say," Ranma said with a grin.

-X-X-X-

Jun looked over at the crime scene with a frown on his face. In his hands were a notepad and a pen, and on the notepad was a picture of two young boys and a girl. The girl had long ears, like an elf, while one of the young boys had ears like a dog. It had come to his mind on the train. He sighed and looked over the crowd.

"The hell is this supposed to mean-" He stopped talking abruptly as three kids like the one in the picture walked into his field of vision. "You have to be kidding me," He thought as he looked down at the notepad.

-X-

Negi looked at the police barricade with a grim expression.

"Man, all this blood is overpowering my nose here," Kotaro complained as he pinched his nose.

"There is an evil aura here," Negi said lowly. "This was definitely a magical attack."

"Is that the purple stuff floating around?" Asuna asked. Negi and Kotaro looked at her. "Huh. You'd think a bunch of people would have noticed the purple stuff floating around by now."

"Purple stuff? I don't see any purple stuff," Kotaro said.

"It's a lingering effect of the attack." The other kids both looked at Negi. "I can sense it, but I can't see it. I think that's what you're seeing, Asuna-san," the young magi explained. Asuna blinked at that.

"You can't see it? It's right there, clear as day-"

"Excuse me." The three stopped and looked over at the person who'd approached them. It was a kid, and he was wearing an overcoat and fedora, with the clothes covering up as much of his identity as he could manage. "Can you tell me what this means?" He asked, holding a note pad up to them. The three blinked and looked at the notepad.

"Hey, that's… pretty good," Asuna said.

"Very accurate," Kotaro nodded.

"You drew it really fast," Negi said, looking back up into the stranger's face.

"Actually, I drew it as I was coming here. And I've never seen you three before just now." The three went silent at that. "I was hoping you might be able to explain the more exotic features, too." They all looked at the picture again and noticed how some of their ears were drawn.

There was a pregnant pause as the three considered that.

"I have to say your ears do compliment the rest of your face, very angular," The boy said, nodding to Asuna.

"U-uh, th-thank you?" She said. Their brief exchange snapped Negi back to life.

"You have precognitive abilities?" The young magi asked.

"I hope not," The boy said with a sigh as he put the notepad in a coat pocket. "If I do, that means a lot of bad things are going to happen. You guys are magical, I assume?" Negi nodded.

"You know about magic, then, I take it." Negi said, tension melting away.

"A living doll appeared in my house one day, complete with a treasure box and tea fetish." The boy said, shrugging. "I know magic exists. That's about it, though." Negi's eyes went wide.

"Living doll? Hmm… Can I see your hand?" He asked. The cloaked stranger merely pulled one of his coat sleeves back and held up his hand. There was a ring with a rose engraved in it. "You have one of the Rozen Maidens?"

"You know about them then," the boy sighed.

"They're legendary. A magister by the name of Rozen made them more than a century ago-"

"Uh-huh. Listen, I just have a few questions I want you guys to ask." The three stared at him, and Asuna frowned. "Are you here to look for a way to stop the guy that did this?"

"Yes," Negi said. "You're here to do something about it as well?"

"Unfortunately," The boy sighed. "I can help you guys with this. I've seen him." Negi's eyes widened.

"You saw him attacking someone else in the future?"

"Possibly. Sick stuff, too," The boy said. "Are you working with the Senshi, by the way?"

"No," Negi sighed.

"We need their help for this thing. Trust me." Negi frowned when he heard that. "We need everyone we can get on this, on this."

"How do we contact them, then?"

"I don't know. But we have to some how. You're a wizard or something, right? Can't you think of something?"

"The correct term is Magi," Negi said with a frown.

"Semantics, semantics," Asuna said with a wave of her hand. "What matters here is that this kid is probably right. I'm willing to bet that whatever did this is a hundred times worse than Evangeline, or anything we've ever faced before. You're just a kid, Negi, powerful wizard or no."

"Hmm," Negi considered her words. "You're right, but…"

"Then it's settled. We find the senshi and give them as much information as we can." He reached into his pocket and took out a card. "For now, you can contact me at this email address. Goodbye." He turned to leave.

"Wait," Negi said. "You said you don't know much about magic, right? If you've got precognitive powers and a _Rozen Maiden_ at home, I think I should tell you more about the subject,"

"Send it to the email," the boy said as he walked away. "I don't like to be outside." When he was far enough away, Kotaro spoke up.

"There was something about that kid…"

"Other than his flaming red hair, I didn't notice anything strange," Asuna said. The other two looked at her for a second but didn't say anything. "Wait. Did we even get his name?"

"No, but this should do for now," Negi said, looking at the card and memorizing the address incase something happened to the card. He pocketed it and frowned. "Well, I'll do a detailed scan of the area for more magic now. You guys try to look for other clues." Kotaro nodded and walked away after shoving his hands in his pockets.

"What the heck am I supposed to do?" Asuna asked.

"You can come with me," came a familiar cheery voice. They both looked to the side and saw Xellis standing there. "Dai wants to see you."

"What? But why?"

"Satoshi-san, I've been meaning to ask you. What have you and Asuna-san been doing?"

"Training," Xellis said with a smile. "Specifically, to use the Aurora Artes." Negi's eyes bugged.

"The WHAT?!"

"The Aurora Wall, Sword, etc. Those." Negi frowned at the cheerful man as he made his list. Those two techniques alone were among the most powerful of the Aurora Artes, and they were lost to time at this point.

"It's not funny to joke like that, Satoshi-san." Negi sighed.

"Hmm," Xellis didn't stop smiling.

"Anyway," Asuna said, looking over at Xellis. "I should tell you, some girl was looking for you last night. Reddish hair, annoyingly cute, strange clothes. She had a picture of you and two older versions of you with her." Xellis looked mildly surprised for a second before he started smiling again.

"Oh really? That's nice,"

"She said you were her brother."

"I see. It's as I expected then... nevertheless, come, we have training to do. Negi-kun, I trust you can take care of things on this end?"

-X-X-X-

Touya looked over at the group of people standing at the entrance to an ILL electronics superstore. The company was becoming more and more widely known throughout the country, but it had originated in Fukuoka and the superstore was something that the company had built to commemorate its success. From what he could see, there were a few TVs out on display behind glass windows, and the people were watching it.

"Huh. What the heck could that be?" Curious, he walked over to the group of people and managed to push his way close enough to see the displays. "Eh? The news?" He almost immediately noticed the subtitle and his eyes bugged out. 'Over forty dead in Tokyo?!' There was no sound because of the glass, but he didn't need to hear it as all of the TVs had subtitles enabled. 'What in the world…' The teen watched the words that appeared along the screen. 'They think it might have been a monster attack… The Senshi are getting involved with it…' He stood back and shook his head. Forty people killed in one night? It was unthinkable.

"I have to find this Chaos Emerald and get back as soon as possible… Those girls might not be able to handle this…"

-X-

Meanwhile, in the same city, ILL company chairman was standing at the window in his corporate office, looking out at the world below. The view he had allowed him to see the entire city, and it was an enchanting view.

Ill Palazzo turned around to look at the rotund man sitting across from his desk. He was bald, had an impossible mustache and wore a suit and tie. The man managed to look fairly neat and had his hands folded in his lap as he looked around the office.

"So, Ivo," The bishounen company chairman started, looking over his guest, "I take it you managed to acquire the Chaos Emerald in this region?"

"Yes, that's right," The fat man said happily. "Nice office by the way. Did you decorate it yourself?"

"Yes. Or rather, I directed."

"Of course, of course," The fat man nodded. "I noticed things have been going a lot better for you over here, too. ILL corporation?" He laughed again.

"It has an… exalted air to it," Ill Palazzo said with a smile, causing the other man to laugh again. "Pleasantries aside, how are your operations in other parts of the world proceeding?"

"Quite well, quite well indeed," The mustachioed man said with a smirk. "I've already located three other Chaos emeralds in Egypt, South America, and China. I need only to go retrieve them."

"Is that right…" Ill looked at his guest. "How are things going with that blue rodent and his ever-present posse?" The fat man looked angry at the mention of the blue rodent, but retained a calm voice.

"He hasn't shown himself yet, thankfully. Though I'm sure he's meddling in some small way. The places where the emeralds were located have robotic sentries in place should he find them as well,"

"Of course," Ill nodded. "Well, I should hope things pan out well on your end, for both our sakes."

"For everyone's sakes." Ivo snorted.

-X-X-X-

"So, let me get this straight," Ranma said, sitting up from a recliner while their jet screamed across the sky. The Tendos, Saotomes, Ryouga and Kuno were gathered in one room. "You guys are only half human, because your mom wasn't one," Ranma said as she looked over the three Tendo sisters. "And you think that you're from the same race that we used to be."

"It makes sense," Akane said. "Back then, Dai and Eliza were saying that I was half-lunarian, but I thought they were wrong."

"It also explains why I can do magic," Nabiki said, holding up a hand. Everyone looked at her when she made her declaration, and a sphere of green energy laced with golden-silver streaks appeared. Almost everyone in the room looked stupefied at her display.

"N-Nabiki?" Soun stumbled over his daughter's name as he stared at the floating ball of Mana.

"What… what is that?" Akane asked.

"Concentrated Mana…" Kuno answered for her. 'But what concerns me are those streaks…'

"Also, this," Nabiki said, holding up her other hand. A glowing, golden-silver streaked blue ball of chi equal in size to the first appeared in her hand, and she promptly fused the two together. The combined sphere bled along her entire body, which glowed with a soft teal light.

"That's… your battle aura?" Akane asked, her eyes widening. "Since when could you do something like that, Nabiki?"

"The trip to the moon, obviously," Kasumi said. "I wonder if I could accomplish something like that…"

"How? Explain," Soun demanded.

"It's easy," Nabiki shrugged. "Ranma-kun and Ryouga-kun did what you should have been doing the whole time, and forced me to train my body for fighting again."

"What?" Soun looked taken aback at the accusation. "But, I thought you didn't want to fight anymore?"

"That's true, but…" Nabiki gave her father a look.

"That was probably the point where you should have laughed and told us we'd appreciate it later," Kasumi muttered. Soun looked over at her.

"Exactly. I hate to admit it, but super martial arts would not have been a pain to know once Ranma showed up. We'd be much better off than we are right now if we had kept going." Nabiki said.

"That's not important right now," Ranma said. "You guys can talk about that later. Right now, we're working out your newly discovered abilities as half-elves."

"Half-elves?" Everyone but Ryouga and Kuno turned to look at him.

"How do you know so much about this, boy?"

"Bah, past life," She waved it off. "It's not important. Anyway," Ranma turned to look at Akane. "Akane. You've been feeling an odd energy along with your Chi ever since the sealing spell wore off, right?"

"Uh…" The girl blinked. "Yeah."

"I want you to try and manipulate that energy the way you would chi," the red head said.

"Okay…" The girl closed her eyes to try and focus her energy. She was soon able to conjure up a thin, almost intangible battle aura composed entirely of mana. "It's there… I can feel it…" She looked over at Ranma. "It's not as much as my chi but it's definitely there."

"I can see that," Ranma said with a nod. "That's because you've never trained to use it. Nabiki has been training under us to use hers as soon as she found out about it," Ranma said.

"Oh… I see…"

"That must be a strange feeling," Kasumi said. Everyone looked at her. "To be able to train someone in an ability that they can use, but you no longer can, because you were reincarnated as a different species."

"Huh." Ranma blinked at that. "I never thought of it that way."

"It has definitely felt strange to me, but there are ways for us to do it with tools." Ryouga said.

"I see. Is there any way that I could learn to do this then?"

"Of course," Kuno said. "Nabiki, channel some of your mana through your sister, it should overload the blocks on her heritage." Nabiki merely nodded at the commanding tone, which surprised everyone but her, Ranma, and Ryouga. It was the same tone that the two had used when they were training her, and had the undercurrents of being an order that was not to be ignored, lest they come up with something unpleasant for her in the future. The girl stood up and walked over to Kasumi, who looked up at her with curiosity.

"Will it hurt?" The older girl asked, studying her younger sister's face.

"It should feel a little warm. Mana _is_ a form of life energy." Ranma said.

"No. I mean the transformation." Everyone looked at Nabiki or Akane.

"It feels more like a blindfold and earplugs being taken away." Nabiki shrugged putting a hand on her sister's forehead. The older girl closed her eyes as soon as the warm sensation started. It quickly went from her head and spread out to the rest of her body, giving her a light tingly sensation all over. The younger sister removed her hand and Kasumi opened her eyes.

Everything in sight was sharper. Sounds were louder. There were some other odd sensations that she wasn't even familiar with at all too. 'I suppose that is what they call a sixth sense,' she thought as she looked around. She absently grabbed some of her hair and brought it down to look at. It was a silvery white color.

"Well, I guess I really am an old maid now." Kasumi said. Most everyone stared at that. Kuno laughed to himself.

"Er…" The silence continued except for Ranma's stuttering.

"Anyway," Kasumi said. "Is this all?" Most of the people in the room blinked at that. "There doesn't seem to be much else to discuss."

"Um…" Soun looked over his three daughters. "No… I don't suppose there is…"

"Well then," Kasumi said. "I think my sisters and I have some talking to do." She said. Both her sisters looked at her in confusion, and she smiled. "Come on you two," She turned and started walking out of the room.

"It's almost lunch time," Ranma said, standing up. She stretched. "And I'm starving! I'll be in the kitchen,"

"After that huge breakfast?" Ryouga asked, staring at the small girl. 'Where does she put it all… oh wait. Nevermind,' He sighed and stood up as well.

"Actually, Hibiki, Saotome," Kuno started, "I would have words with you. It regards the Tendo sisters,"

"What? Anything that concerns them concerns me," Soun said in an authoritative tone.

"No it doesn't." Kuno said simply as he walked out of the room.

"But… but…" Soun sputtered there for a second while Ranma shrugged and followed after Kuno.

"I apologize, but it is very sensitive information," Ryouga said. "It's not anything that could harm them, though. Don't worry, Tendo-san." The younger man walked out of the room after his associates.

"Tendo-Kun…" Saotome said, shaking his head. "We need to talk as well."

-X-

In the kitchen, Ranma was making a big sandwich for herself as Kuno started the conversation. There was a glass of milk sitting on the counter as well.

"I'm sure the two of you saw it earlier,"

"The Silver Millenium energy in their mana," Ryouga nodded. "They're descendants of Pallas as well." Kuno frowned at that.

"How can you be so calm? This means that they are princesses of our kingdom!" Ryouga gave him a bored look and Ranma absently grabbed the glass of milk and started gulping it down.

"That's important, sure, but I don't suspect it will come up too much in the future," he said.

"It will," Kuno said, calming himself. "Because we're going to rebuild the Lunarian Kingdom." Every one of Ryouga's muscles froze and Ranma snorted milk out of her nose. "It is something that will already happen with or without us at this point. The planets are already well on their way to be restored. I believe on is already completely revived at this point." Ryouga's eyes bugged while Ranma glared at Kuno and started wiping milk off the counter top.

"That's… that's…"

"It's nothing short of amazing," Kuno admitted. "But there were measures put in place in the event that a natural shift in the planet's composition, such as an excess of some lethal gas or chemical in the atmosphere, or something similar, that would revert the process. This was simply a far larger scale task than we ever predicted, but it was not impossible."

"Incredible…" Ryouga shook his head as he said that. "The revival of the moon kingdom would require an heir. That's why this is so important to you." Ryouga said.

"It's… part of the reason why," Kuno said, wincing.

"There's something you're not telling us?" Ryouga said.

"I'm sure you're aware of the Sailor Senshi who operate out of Juuban," Kuno said.

"Of course," Ryouga said. Ranma tossed a milk soaked paper towel into the trash can when she spoke up.

"Everyone knows who they are," She said. "Defenders of love and justice, skimpy skirt wearin' broads that go around killing youma. They're from our memories too right?"

"Correct," Kuno nodded. "Sailor Moon is the reincarnation of the princess Serenity that was in line for the throne when the moon kingdom fell." Both Ryouga and Ranma were surprised at that.

"My sister?" Ranma demanded. "Sailor Moon… Usagi-chan is my _sister_?!"

"That is correct."

"This is bad," Ryouga said. "If she's just a reincarnation, she's one hundred percent human, like us."

"But she is the one who currently lays claim to the future throne of the Moon Kingdom, as well as the Ginzuishou itself." Kuno nodded. "Thus, our problem."

"With the appearance of those who carry royal blood, there will be a dispute if they are to become aware of how great their heritage really is." The three went silent at that while Ranma finished making her sandwich, troubled expressions on their faces.

"What do we do from here?"

"I'm not sure. It would be treason to keep them in the dark about their bloodline, but at the same time, the reincarnation of the old princess… And all of the senshi have already sworn fealty to her."

"We'll have to talk this over with them then," Ranma said. "Though for some reason I feel as if that is a bad idea…"

"They don't like us much," Ryouga said. "From what I remember, we were known as the bigger, badder, cooler versions of the senshi who didn't bother drawing magic from the various planets, and instead trained only our bodies to use our great abilities."

"Even though they were and still are every bit our magical superiors because of those same planetary links." Kuno nodded.

"Ah, right. It was the publicity that Dai got you…" Ranma said, cocking her head to the side, before blinking as if suddenly remembering something. "Er, that _I_ got us,"

"Anyway," Kuno said. "You see our dilemma. We need a solution, and fast."

"You got that right," Ranma said with a sigh.

"It would also help to round up the rest of the knights," Ryouga said, crossing his arms. "It would help us build a better case."

"We're still undecided on what to do," Ranma reminded him. "Which claim is the more legitimate one? I have no idea. My sister, or my fiancé?"

"It would be Kasumi," Ryouga said. "She's the oldest."

"Right, right. My sister, or my fiance's sister, as the future queen of my country?" Ranma shook her head. "This is one confusing situation. Hell, I could end up being king at this rate, and that'd suck a lot more than either other situation. I remember hating being a royal."

"Indeed…" Kuno looked down at a wrist watch. "We only have little bit of time to work it out. The Moon Kingdom won't rise tomorrow, but still soon. The faster the better."

-X-X-X-

Chibi Usa sat at a table in a crowded breakfast café. She frowned down at her cup of tea, which was still spinning from when she had stirred it. The girl had called Setsuna several times, but hadn't been able to get through to her. So she'd left a message on the woman's cell phone, hoping that it would be received and that either she'd be called back or they would meet, as she had requested.

She looked up and turned her neck to get a better view of the cafe, but did not see the green haired senshi in the vicinity.

"C'mon… I don't want to stay here forever," Chibi-Usa said as she looked down at the coffee as it settled. "He was lying… She'll tell me so and…" The girl looked down at the coffee with a blank expression. "She'll… He's lying…"

"Chibi-Usa…" The pink haired girl immediately looked up at the voice. Setsuna was standing behind her with a somber look on her face. "You wanted to talk with me?"

"Is it true?" The girl blurted out immediately. "Is it true that I'll never see my mom and dad again?" The much older woman gave a small smile.

"Before I answer that, let's go outside for a walk, okay?" She asked. Chibi-Usa drew back, suspicious.

"Why aren't you answering me right away?"

"There's something I want to tell you first," The older woman said. "Come on. Let's go."

"Well… okay," the young girl stood up and followed her out of the café.

-x-

Not much later, the two were walking in a park.

"What was it you wanted to tell me, Puu?" Setsuna smiled at the familiar nickname.

"Chibi-Usa… right now, the Time Gates are very… hazy, right now. A great deal of Chaos that was in hiding before has made itself known, and every single future has variable rates of possibility at the moment…"

"And…?"

"At the moment, the timeline that you came from… it is not reachable from this one." Chibi-Usa looked up at her when she said that.

"C-chaos?" the younger girl choked, her emotions clouding her ability to speak. 'I knew it…'

"Pure Chaos. Unrivaled in the universe." Setsuna said. The two stopped in front of a bench and sat down.

"W-would that be this?" The young girl asked, holding up a hand. A familiar red Chaos emerald flashed into existence in her hand and Setsuna's eyes slowly widened as she realized exactly what the hell it was.

"Where the hell did you get that?!" she demanded immediately, grabbing the young girl's shoulders and shaking her violently.

"It- it was from that guy!" Chibi-Usa said, a bit shocked at the vehemence. Setsuna blinked at the girl's reaction and calmed herself.

"Put that away," Setsuna commanded, with a sigh. "I don't believe this. You bound it to your senshi magic?"

"Is… is this the Chaos you meant?" Chibi-Usa asked.

"I'm afraid that's only part of it," Setsuna said gravely. "What guy did you say gave it to you?"

"He had long blue hair… He was the same one who did that ice attack on the youma that froze up that entire street," Chibi-Usa said.

"I see…" Setsuna frowned. 'Shitaru? What could he be thinking?'

"Puu…" Setsuna looked down at the small girl and noticed for the first time that she was crying. "Am I really never gonna see my mama and papa again?"

"It's… a possibility."

"O…Oh. " Chibi-Usa hiccupped as she tried to wipe her eyes, but the tears came faster at that point and Setsuna didn't need to fake the sympathetic look that went on her face.

The young pink-haired girl laid her head down on her lap and cried for a long time. Setsuna didn't bother keeping track of how much time passed, but when she had finally girl stopped, the sky was a dark orange, with the sun already almost completely down.

'This is partially her fault, then.' She thought as she considered the prospect of a Chaos Emerald. 'It would have been a significant boost in power, but the outburst of Chaos Energy that night is what cut off her own future… I wonder, did he know it would do that?' She shook her head and rubbed the devastated girl's head, looking around the park with a frown on her face. 'Her entire future is unpredictable now…'

"Excuse me," a voice from behind spoke up suddenly, and Setsuna turned around to look at the person standing behind the bench they were on. It was a child with an overcoat, sunglasses, and a fedora. "Is she okay?" The voice seemed familiar to Setsuna, and she blinked at the child.

"She'll be fine." Setsuna squinted as she looked at the boy. "Have we met before?" He sighed at that.

"Probably." He reached up and gripped his fedora and sunglasses, then took them off. Setsuna was shocked. "Figures Sailor Pluto would remember me." Setsuna scowled at him.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded.

"I have no idea, really," he said with a shrug. "All I know is that some bad things are happening and I'm not being allowed to sit around anymore." Setsuna looked mildly surprised at that. "Like this recent disaster with the forty murders in one night. That wasn't caused by a person, right?" She stared at him for a moment before sighing.

"You're right. That was a Mazoku's work."

"A Mazoku, hmm?" She scowled at his casual response. "Well, I'm leaving. You should be able to find me, right?" Setsuna didn't respond, so he turned around and started walking away.

"…Mars." Jun stopped. "Do you know about the others?"

'The others?' Jun looked down at the ground. 'That's right. There were more like me in the dreams…' He looked up again. "No idea where they are." He continued walking away.

Setsuna frowned and turned back around to look at the sleeping Chibi-Usa.

'Things are only going to get worse.'

-X-X-X-

"Is this the place?" A confused Sakai Yuji was standing below an apartment complex with a white paper in his hand and a huge backpack strapped to him. "Wilhelmina said that only people like us live in this building, right?"

"Yes, to both questions." Shana was standing beside him with a large bag of her own.

"It's convenient that Konoe-dono was able to procure such arrangements for us. The two of you will be able to train here with stronger fighters than yourselves," Alastor's voice resonated from within the pendant around Shana's neck. Yuji looked down at the pendant in surprise.

"Stronger than Shana?"

"People like that Mazoku from before are here in this city. They may not be Mazoku, but they are definitely powerful. Xellis did not reveal his true power until the end of your fight, you can expect at least a few of the people here to be at the level that he displayed before he did such." The voice continued.

"Right…But why such a large place?" the boy asked.

"Stupid Yuji, he said he plans to amass a force capable of protecting all of Earth should anything happen. And thanks to that stupid tree, something is definitely going to happen."

"We should expect to run into the Sailor Senshi here as well, this is their area of operation," Alastor mentioned.

"Right… so there are going to be all different kinds of magi and flame haze here?" Yuji asked as they walked inside the apartment complex.

"Correct. We're actually only the second group to get here, I believe," Alastor said. "That child professor and his two assistants should be the only other people in the complex as of now."

"That sounds convenient," Yuji said. "Wilhelmina should be coming soon, right? And Margery-san too?"

"Margery Daw will be coming at her own leisure. There will be several other flame haze besides her."

"Of course," Yuji sighed. "So we're going to be training with these people?"

"If they accept. Don't pester anyone." Shana snapped.

"I should say that to you," Yuji said with a frown. The flame haze hmphed at that.

-X-X-X-

Nabiki looked around the room she was to be staying in for a week. It wasn't bad – the bed was fairly large, there was a big television, a big window… everything about the room was big.

"I wonder if our new house will be like this," she thought as she set her traveling bag down by the door, then kicked off her shoes and pulled off her socks. A frown came over her face as she looked at the bag as she realized that she'd done the bulk of her traveling without the bag. After all, she'd spent an entire month in the wilderness - an artificial seeming wilderness, but still. It made the bag seem useless. Her shoes and socks were also quite worn, she noticed. The girl lifted up her leg and looked at her foot; there were rough calluses in place of the soft, smooth skin she had gotten used to seeing over they years.

She sighed as she walked around the bed; it was placed awkwardly in the middle of the room with only the head against a wall, cutting the room in a U shape. It made the room seem smaller than it really was, which was still at least twice the size of her own room. She stopped at the window opposite of the door and looked out at the complex.

'Man, is everyone in Kuno's family loaded?' Even though Nabiki was not easily impressed, the size of the estate was still breathtaking for her. There was a huge garden complete with fountains and statues of little naked babies with wings that her house and dojo together could have fit on several times. Tall hedges arranged in a tasteful pattern, various trees and a stately wall complete with a grand fence surrounding the premises. The place was many times more impressive than even Kuno's comparatively shack of a home, and the small bits she'd seen of the inside were just as impressive.

'I definitely want a place like this.' She unlatched the elegantly designed wood-framed windows and pushed them open so she could lean out. She turned her head to get different viewpoints of the estate; from her vantage point, she could see that her room was on the far left side of the mansion. She turned her body around so that her back was on the window sill and looked up at the mansion's roof. 'Hey, I can get a better view from up there…' She grabbed the top of the windowsill and pulled herself up so that she was standing in the window.

She leapt up, grabbed onto the edge of the roof and easily pulled herself up. The teen frowned as she rubbed a foot over the jade shingles. 'I didn't know the material was so rough.' Shrugging, she started walking across the roof and looked around. 'It looks much bigger from up here.'

"Oh, heya Nabiki," Nabiki turned and blinked at the person who was standing there. It was Ranma-chan. "This place is huge, huh?"

"Yes," She said as she looked away. "You're looking around too?"

"Plannin' escape routes," the other girl explained. Nabiki blinked at that.

"Good idea, actually." Nabiki said as she too started noting possible escape routes.

"So," Ranma started, "You think we'll run into that Ryoko chick here? This is the city where that UFO crashed, after all. We're not the only tourists this month."

"I've been thinking about that, and I honestly doubt we _won't_ run into her here." Nabiki said honestly. Ranma nodded at that.

"So, how about that Miwa lady who was here earlier? What did you think of her? She seemed awfully proud of her son."

"What, Kuno's other aunt?" Nabiki looked over at the other teen. "She's just as crazy as the rest of them. The only Kuno that hasn't seemed insane, stupid, or just plain sick yet is Shinshige, and I'm willing to bet he's hiding something too."

"Probably." Ranma agreed. "I think it's the money. Anyway, Miwa invited us to go over to her laboratory tomorrow. You coming?"

"I don't know right now," Nabiki said as she started walking back to the edge of the roof. "I'll probably be touring the city. It's not often we get to go other places like this." Nabiki looked away from Ranma. 'That, and Kunos and science do not mix. Ever. Even if their last names are different.'

"Eh, pops and I passed through here on the way to Nerima," Ranma said with a frown on her face. "I think we were attacked by the local crazies a couple'a times, too. Some blonde girl in a weird costume…"

"That's not too strange for you guys. See you later, Ranma-kun." Nabiki said as she jumped down the roof and onto the window sill.

"Yeah." Ranma said, turning her head to look somewhere else. "You can come out now."

Dai appeared from within Ranma's shadow.

"Are you ready for this, then?" Dai asked.

"Not really, no. I got to know the real you a little bit, and I'm more than ready to accept that guy, but the current you is also a manifestation of my current body's demonic heritage, isn't it?"

"You figured that out? Good," Dai said with a smirk as his eyes turned blue with red sclera. "It's been quite an annoying thing to endure, I assure you."

"Yeah, yeah. Come on, let's get this over with…"

-X-X-X-

Gojyou Shiouji clenched his jaw tightly as he looked at his mother.

"What do you mean we'll be getting visitors tomorrow?" He demanded. "You can't just drop in and announce that you're bringing guests."

"You tend to forget, my cute son, that this laboratory is mine," his mother said, standing over him. "Besides, your loving mother just wants you to meet more of her side of the family. Now, I know I can trust you to behave…" She leaned in and shoved her bountiful assets in his face. "Like a good little boy for your cousins… right?" her son managed a muffled reply from between her breasts and she smiled. "That's my boy!" She pulled back. "Now, I'm expecting them sometime around nine in the morning, so make sure everything is presentable before you go to sleep."

"That's Umi's job," her son replied angrily. "She's not supposed to be freeloading, you know,"

"She doesn't. She cooks us dinner and serves you tea, what more can you ask of her?"

"Not to bring in amnesiac strangers dressed in prison clothes off the street? By the way, how are you going to explain Teriha to our real relatives?" He demanded.

"Teriha? There is nothing to explain, son. She is just as related to us as they are." She said, patting him on the head. "Now remember the time they're going to be here is eight o'clock in the morning." She started walking away.

"Wait, didn't you just say it was going to be at nine?"

"Don't pay attention to little details, son," She said as she walked around a corner.

"Heh heh heh," Gojyou turned and saw Ryoko standing at a wall. "Your mother always cracks me up." The bishounen scientist grunted in response and Ryoko smirked.

"Go get Iwata, Umi, and Teriha. I've got to tell them about this," He said in a resigned voice.

"What about your Nishiki?" Ryoko asked as her smirk widened.

"I'll get to that," he said, waving a hand. "You go on." The alien woman laughed as she floated backwards through the wall.

"I wonder how I'm going to get them from acting stupid while the visitors are here… And Ryoko, I'll have to remind her not to display any sort of extra terrestrial abilities… like floating, or going through solids." He sighed and took his glasses off, rubbing his head. "Why can't things be easy for me?"

-X-X-X-

Kuno was sitting at a desk in a study with his own pocket computer in front of him. On the display was Washuu's face.

"…so, the majority of the planets should be fully Terra-formed within a week," The red headed scientist iterated to him, and the swordsman-turned-genius smirked. "I have to admit, that was a smart move on your part to have those Idonite fueled Molecular Transmogrifiers in place on the major planets…"

"Well, of course, it was last resort, but it did turn out to be necessary. How do you think the current population on Earth will take the news that all of the other major bodies in the system will be inhabitable and readily accessible by the end of the month?"

"A few of them will be quite angry I imagine," The diminutive scientist chuckled. "Especially since said planets will technically belong to your princess." He snorted at that.

"They were too slow. That's not my fault."

"True. But they have such strange views on technology, they might not understand your purpose, possibly even assume you have ulterior motives. Your country has a lack of citizenry, they'll probably think you want people to rule over."

"Ah, yes. I can see it now. Our sales pitch; Come to the moon! The technology will blow your mind! Just make sure to leave your free will at the door!" Washuu chuckled at that. "I'll sell them one of Jupiter's moons. How's that?" The two laughed.

"How do you plan to deal with their primitive exploration units in place?" Washuu asked with a smirk.

"Oh, that's quite simple. I'll just go to each one and make sure the last picture they get is of me destroying the useless things."

"That'll make someone angry, too. Those remote controlled cars are of the expensive variety, you know. For these people, anyway."

"Hmph. That technology was outdated before they could even begin to conceive it. By billions of years." His smirk turned into a sneer. "These people will learn their place in the universe, and they will graciously integrate themselves into the moon kingdom."

"That's probably true, but you shouldn't get too ahead of yourself." Kuno raised an eyebrow at that.

"Oh?"

"The Sailor Senshi are generally regarded as super heroes who fight for good. How will you reveal these things without sounding like insane megalomaniacal world conquerors? The world, America especially, has a lineup of super powered beings who'd just as quickly punch you and the senshi into the ground and then destroy your advanced technology for attempting 'unfair advancement of a premature species' or some such nonsense. Some sort of prime directive."

"We don't need to do much. Technically, all of the planets in the solar system, save for Earth, are already part of the Moon Kingdom. They can't deny that. If we just make it accessible, we can easily get the ball rolling. Just leave an invitation of sorts, get an embassy in place in Earth's major countries. I'm well aware that superior technology and leadership alone won't remake the Moon Kingdom. The citizenry are the lifeblood of any _civilized_ country. I'm also fairly certain that Exire's population will be all to glad to return to their true homes on Luna. My plans involve a lot more than this, of course, but this is just the beginning."

"I see." Washuu nodded. 'He hasn't changed a bit… Even with fragmented memories. I wonder if anyone else bothered to think about it.' She snorted. Only one other person in Luna's elite force had this much foresight. "When do you plan to meet with Sailor Pluto?"

"Definitely soon,"

"And last. What of Derris Kharlan?" Kuno's face became pensive at the mention of mass of Mana that floated at the edge of the solar system.

"Master Lloyd and his people are welcome to do as they please."

"What if they try to stop the revival of the Moon Kingdom?"

"I don't think it will come to that. Since our revival means the awakening of Yggdrasill, that is. They will do whatever they can to protect that tree and its children spread across the planets. Our revival was made possible in part by them, in the first place."

"Hmm. Well all I can say is good luck. You know I don't like to bother with these affairs." He slowly nodded at that. "Although I should say. If you try to go to Cerellius II… you will encounter some definite surprises."

"Surprises?" The man narrowed his eyes. "These are not pleasant surprises I assume?"

"Well, for one, I suppose I can congratulate you on your superb design of a self sufficient ship that has managed to stay online and support numerous, distinct alien life forms over the natural course of their many life times, but…"

"But…" Washuu laughed nervously.

"Well… You remember those jellyfish-like lifeforms you found on uninhabitable planet SR-388 and had to subdue with supercold weaponry, don't you?"

Kuno's face went pale.


	13. The end of the beginning

I rewatched every episode of Sailor Moon and am currently looking for the second volume of the manga, which means that I can now write Senshi scenes without blatantly going on twelve year old memories of the dub's first airing and (extremely exaggerated) fandom!

And man did I get lucky with my Silver Millenium scenes in earlier chapters, everything matched up near perfectly and I don't feel like a fool. I am gonna have to revise some stuff, though.

Oh yes, please don't forget to point out errors. I know how silly they make me look.

--

Luna paced around in front of the door that separated the hallway from Usagi and Mamoru's room. The moon cat mumbled something under her breath, stopped pacing, and looked at the door.

"Usagiiii, hurry up! Everyone else is probably there already!"

"I'm almost ready, Luna! Stop whining already!"

"That's what you said five minutes ago! Come on, hurry up!"

"Stop rushing me, Luna! I know we're in a hurry already! At this rate you'll make me forget something!" Luna shook her head, turned and walked out of the hallway and into the apartment's living room. Mamoru was sitting on the couch with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"She's still getting ready?" Luna nodded and plopped down on the rug.

"Geez…I can't believe she's still so irresponsible at her age…" Mamoru smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

"Well, if she wasn't, she wouldn't be the same old Usagi."

--

Usagi ran up the stairs and into the clearing before the Hikawa shrine, and stopped, panting. All of the other senshi, Chibi Moon included, were already there and in the midst their own little conversations. Most of them were seated on the ground or a wooden bench, with the exceptions of Haruka and Michiru, who were leaning against a tree, and Setsuna, who simply stood in place at one end of the clearing. They all looked up when she suddenly ran into their space.

"SorryI'mlate!"

"It's about time you showed up, stupid!" The pink haired girl from the future yelled.

"Hey, I had to find something! I couldn't just leave it there!" The blonde said in her defense as she plopped down on the ground next to the pink haired girl.

"What did you lose?" Chibi-Usa demanded.

"Uh..! Nothing important!" Most of the girls stared at her.

"Right, sure, we believe you." Minako rolled her eyes.

"Please try to be better prepared for future gatherings, princess." Michiru sighed.

"Yeah, you're almost half an hour late, which is bad even for you!" Rei glared at the princess in question.

"Yeah, yeah," Usagi them off. "Let's just start the meeting already!"

"Right. Where's Luna?" Artemis asked. "She was the one who called for it."

"Right here," Luna responded. She and Mamoru walked up the stairs. "Mamoru-san and I were already discussing the situation."

"The situation?" Haruka asked. "It sounds like something big has happened."

Luna nodded.

"I'm sure you girls have heard of it as well. That grotesque killing spree last night," Luna said, grim tones. "That was not the work of a human."

"I had hoped not." The woman sometimes known as Sailor Uranus spoke up. "What kind of monster did it then?"

"I'll take it from here," Pluto said, looking over at Luna. The black moon cat nodded and walked over to join Artemis as Mamoru walked over to sit next to Usagi. "This was the work of a Mazoku. They are energy based beings that devour negative emotions like sorrow, anger, much the same way our princess would a plate full of sweets." The other senshi all snickered at a blushing Usagi, whose protests went ignored.

"Mazoku are very powerful and cannot be hurt by ordinary means. Their physical bodies are projections from the astral plane, and only magic that attacks them there in the astral plane will deal any sort of damage to them. The weakest Mazoku in the universe could easily topple Earth's current civilization and send the world to ruins, if not for us. The more powerful ones, who are capable of changing shape to hide amongst their prey, can only be damaged by magic as pure as the Ginzuishou's power. And then there are the Mazoku Lords, who cannot be harmed, even by Eternal Sailor Moon's power."

There was a nervous tension in the air after her revelation.

"Luckily, all Mazoku in this universe that fit into that category have either been destroyed or sealed; either by their rival mazoku, or other beings of great power. If they weren't, quite honestly, we wouldn't be standing here right now." The nervous feeling seemed to increase and deflate at the same time. Rei frowned at the green haired woman and tilted her head.

"Where did these Mazoku get spawned from? Hell?"

"Not quite," Setsuna said. "They're from another quadrant. The being that created them created a counterpart to them as well; the Shinzoku. It also created four different galaxies for them. Mazoku were tasked with returning those worlds to chaos, and the Shinzoku were tasked with protecting them." Usagi and some of the other senshi blinked.

"Why would someone do that?" Mamoru asked.

"No one has been able to figure that out. The being that made them was known as "The Lord of Nightmares"… not much is known about it or its origins, but it is described as an all powerful or omnipotent being." Most of the senshi looked surprised when she said that.

"You mean, like… kami-sama?" Minako asked.

"Yes, like kami-sama," Setsuna said. "However, once it finished with its supposed work, it disappeared from all senses, so many people are not sure if it ever really even existed."

"Sounds like every god I've ever heard of before," Haruka snorted. With the blonde's comment, the atmosphere loosened up all at once.

"Right, okay, anyway. So, I'm guessing this is one of the stronger guys?" Makoto asked. Setsuna nodded again.

"Correct."

"So do we have any plans to defeat this Mazoku creature yet?" Haruka asked. There was a dangerous edge to her voice. "I want to paste him as soon as possible."

"No," Setsuna said. "Without help, we cannot hope to stand against it. This monster is unlike any we have ever faced before. It is on a completely different level."

"We've held up against those sorts of odds before," Makoto reminded. "Just barely, but still, we have. We can do it again, I know we can."

"All of the senshi together couldn't stand against a Mazoku strong enough to hold a convincing human form. Even the weaker ones who look like youma would be too much for a single senshi. Possibly, even Sailor Saturn's full power wouldn't destroy this one; it might actually be ineffective because of Mazoku nature. Sailor Moon has a good chance, but the mazoku will need to be weakened first. Since it is a creature that feeds off of fear, pain, despair, and anger, and is harmed by those emotions opposites, just being around her will damage it, but that alone won't be enough."

"So, like you said, we have to wait for Ranma and his friends to awaken before we fight it." Rei said with a frown.

"Ranma?" Haruka asked. "Who's that?"

"Prince Dai," Setsuna explained. Haruka blinked, then grinned.

"That little punk? He made it through? Why didn't you tell me? Wait, does this mean that Eliza is here too?" Usagi frowned as she started to realize something.

"Yes, although that is a rather complicated situation…" Setsuna started.

"Wait, wait." Usagi narrowed her eyes and glared at the outer senshi. "You mean, you guys knew too? You remembered everything about my past family? Why didn't you tell me?" All of the Senshi and Mamoru looked over at the outers.

"Past family… This is the first I've heard of this," Mamoru muttered. Usagi glanced at him innocently.

"Well, they never came up," Haruka shrugged.

"They never came up!?" Usagi and most of the inner senshi looked at Haruka in surprise. "How can you say something like that? Members of the past royal family were forgotten, simply because they never came up!?"

"Dai…Wait, you mean that idiot who hated losing?" Mamoru said suddenly. Everyone turned to look at him. "He was pretty hot headed at first, but when things started going south, he seemed to transform." The outer senshi nodded in agreement with him, while Usagi sported a new twitch on her face.

"He started acting more like you," The blonde snorted. "All prissy and uptight…" Mamoru narrowed his eyes at her.

"You trying to start something, Tenoh?" The blonde smirked.

"I'm just telling the truth. But hey, if you want to go, Chiba…"

"That's enough, you two." Usagi snapped, looking from one to the other.

"Hmph, fine. How's our younger princess doing, then?" Haruka asked, looking at Setsuna.

"As I was saying… that's fairly complicated." Haruka blinked, and Usagi sighed.

"Complicated is hardly the word for it. More like, 'Bizarre, twisted, and so convoluted it'll tear your brain apart'." Rei snorted.

"What, what is it?" Haruka asked, frowning.

"That'll take a while to fully explain…" Setsuna said.

"That's all you've said since the first time I asked about her." Haruka said, narrowing her eyes.

"Did something happen?" Michiru asked. Setsuna sighed and looked down.

"Like I said…"

"They share the same body," Usagi finally said, heaving a sigh. The outer senshi and Mamoru looked at her in surprise.

"And just how did that happen?" Haruka demanded. The green haired senshi of time sighed rather audibly, earning the stares of all the other senshi.

"Dai… screwed up the reincarnation spell Queen Serenity used… He used the Eternal Sword's magic to send his own warriors forward, since unlike the senshi, who had sailor crystals and their connections to the planets, the Astral Senshi would forget and thus lose their abilities after the reincarnation. The way he did it was very specific; the Eternal Sword forced them to live through lives that would allow them to develop similar abilities and be able to use the ones they remembered." Setsuna explained.

"Wait, wait, Astral Senshi?" Usagi asked.

"That was what Dai's group was called," Setsuna said.

"What, you really can't remember them, princess?" Haruka asked, grinning at Usagi, who gave her a frustrated look.

"Anyway," Setsuna continued, "When Dai did his own reincarnation, he said he wanted to be with Eliza always so that he could protect her…"

"And the sword took it literally." Michiru said with a frown. Haruka had an expression of disinterest. Setsuna nodded.

"Dai reincarnated as a boy named Saotome Ranma. When he turned sixteen years old, he fell into a cursed spring that turned him into a female every time he was splashed with cold water. The body he takes on his twin sister's. The change is reversed by hot water." The outer senshi and Mamoru were speechless for a few moments. Haruka finally shook her head and spoke.

"Now that's really messed up. Sounds like something that idiot'd do. No wonder we haven't seen Sailor Star yet." The inner senshi all froze when they heard that.

"That does sound complicated." Mamoru said with a frown.

"It must be very confusing for Ranma-san." Michiru agreed.

"Wait, wait, hold up!" Usagi snapped. "Sailor Star?" She demanded. "You've been hiding a Sailor Senshi from me!?"

"Well, like I said, it's fairly complicated," Setsuna said. "And I really didn't want to have to deal with that egotistical moron…" The older woman muttered that last bit under her breath, but everyone heard it. The inner senshi blinked and looked over at her.

"That's right, you said it before. He's dangerous or something?" Makoto asked.

"Dai was the leader of the Astral Senshi. As you may have gathered from the discussion, he was rather prideful and arrogant." Ami started. A life sized three dimensional picture was projected from the Mercury computer. The young man had a shit-eating grin on his face and a hand on the sheathed sword on his waist. He seemed to be looking down at something. "He was a very skilled swordsman. However, Dai was not chosen to receive a sailor crystal. This filled him with some amount of jealousy, since the Sailor Senshi were far more powerful than normal people, due to our connections with our planets." Haruka snorted.

"He called it cheating, the little punk."

"Why not? It couldn't have been because he was male. The Starlights and Mamoru have sailor crystals. They're male." Usagi pointed out.

"Mamoru isn't a traditional Sailor Senshi, and the star lights transformed into females when they used theirs, but that is beside the point." Ami said.

"Dai was not selected because there were not enough noteworthy star seeds to pass out like candy drops," Michiru explained, "Eliza received the sailor crystal of the star we orbit and was to become Sailor Star, but she never got the chance to use it even once."

"I see," Usagi said. "Anyway, could you keep going, Ami-chan?"

"Right. Well, Dai became a bit jealous of the Senshi, so he started going to insane lengths to become as powerful as Sailor Senshi. He trained himself day in and day out and saw vast increases in power, but was still nowhere near the sheer magical power levels of the senshi. However, because of his insane training regimen, he became more skilled than all of us. He challenged Sailor Jupiter to a fight and won." The other inner senshi all blinked, and Makoto frowned. "Soon, he dragged his friends into his insane training sessions, and together they became a deadly force on par with the senshi, not because of power, but because of skill. He started calling his little group the 'Astral Senshi'."

"And as we speak, the process is repeating." Setsuna started with a sigh. "Even though I tried to keep it from happening, it started on its own." Everyone looked over at her.

"What do you mean?" Minako asked. "We haven't run into Ranma as the senshi yet."

"Ranma has discovered the identities of Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi Moon," Setsuna said, to both Chibi-Usa and Usagi's surprise.

"You mean he knows about us?" Chibi-Usa spoke up for the first time since Usagi's arrival. "But… when?"

"The night you were frozen. Ranma and many others felt the energy, and a few, Ranma included, were drawn to the site of the attack. It was the first time he saw you all in person, and when you slipped up and called Small Lady by her nickname, he figured it out instantly." Setsuna explained. The senshi all looked rather surprised at that.

"That little punk was watching us?" Haruka demanded, tensing up. "From where? I didn't sense anyone at all."

"Ranma is already skilled enough, if not strong enough, to put down a few of you girls," Setsuna said, facing the inner senshi. Rei, Makoto, and Minako bristled at that, but Setsuna continued before they could respond. "He can literally hide in plain sight."

"However, he's intimidated by our sheer magical power. Unlike Dai, who grew up around magic and the Senshi, Ranma has not faced magic at our level yet. The closest any of his foes were to our level was a phoenix who was half as strong as Sailor Mars, but more skilled thanks to his immortal nature and memories. Even as confident and arrogant as Ranma is, he's wary of picking a fight with the Senshi, whereas Dai couldn't get enough of fighting you girls. Ranma will probably be like that after a few encounters, too, though. He loves fighting stronger foes so that he can prove himself."

"He'll become addicted." Ami added. The other inner senshi frowned at that. Haruka chuckled.

"I'll be the one to put him in his place, then, and show him just how unhealthy an addiction it is."

"Hey! I think that should go to me," Makoto said, looking at the blonde.

"You already lost, Kino." Makoto scowled and opened her mouth, but Haruka continued before the younger woman could respond. "What about Eliza, though? If they're the same person, what sort of impact has she had on him?"

"He more or less becomes her with the change, but with Ranma's memories."

"So basically, Eliza is a girl who remembers being born a male, and having been a boy most of her life." Haruka whistled. "She must be pretty disturbed right now, huh?"

"That's one way to put it." Setsuna nodded. Usagi wilted.

"How sad…" she started. "Poor Eliza…" Mamoru put an arm around her.

"I'm sure it can be fixed," Mamoru said. He looked up at Setsuna. "It can be, right?" Setsuna nodded.

"We need to separate Ranma's female body from his male body. However, the curse itself is just a trigger for a change of sex; Ranma is in the same body no matter what sex he or she is. To do what we want, we'd have to write a new human body into existence. That's the kind of thing that's actually easiest to do if you alter history." Usagi frowned.

"So it won't be easy?" The green haired senshi nodded. "That's okay. I'll do whatever it takes to fix them." Setsuna nodded again.

"Right, well, anyway," Setsuna sighed. "Back to the original purpose of this meeting. The Mazoku can only be destroyed if we combine forces with the Astral Senshi."

"Which reminds me," Usagi started, facing the green haired senshi. "You avoided bringing him and the other "Astral" senshi out because you didn't want to deal with his attitude?"

"Well, him and Astral Mars were the worst, but no. Dai had some philosophies that went against our way of life. He did not fit well into our society, and wouldn't again in Crystal Tokyo."

"His desire for combat." Ami said.

"That and his attitude." Setsuna nodded. "He can be very callous, even without meaning to sometimes."

"Oh ho… You all talk about me like I'm so far away." Everyone froze. The inner senshi recognized Ranma's voice, and the others recognized Dai.

A completely black version of the hologram standing in front of them suddenly appeared beside it. His hair was in an incredibly long braid. Chibi-Usa's eyes widened in recognition, but she didn't say anything.

"Dai," Setsuna said evenly. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you with Ranma?"

"I'm going to be fusing with Ranma tonight," Dai said with a shrug. "Everything's going as planned. But, I decided I'd visit you guys, only to show up and find you all talking about me like some museum exhibit. I'm flattered."

"Answer the question."

Dai simply smirked.

"You ain't the boss of me."

"Ranma?" Usagi asked in apparent confusion. "Are you Ranma?" Dai turned and looked at her with a smile on his face.

"Not exactly. I'm an apparition." Usagi frowned.

"How did that happen?" Mamoru asked. Ami was already scanning the figure before them with her mercury computer.

"That body is a construct made from negative energy. It's rapidly deteriorating."

"Hence my refusing with Ranma tonight." Dai sighed. "I'd really rather not, but if I don't, we'll both die. Well, Ranma'll go crazy first, but yeah."

"Dai," Setsuna started. "Tell us why you are here and hurry about your business or leave us be. You are not a Senshi, and so do not need to be privy to our plans."

"That's no way to treat the guest of honor," Dai said with a frown. "Did you lose the garnet rod up your ass or something? You're even stiffer than usual!"

"Hey, asshole! That's no way to talk to a lady!" Makoto snapped.

"Oh, look who it is! Sailor Jupiter! How are you doing? I didn't notice you there!" The expression on his face suddenly matched the hologram beside him.

"You bastard!" Makoto made to attack him, but Rei and Minako held her back. She struggled against them for a moment, but stopped when Usagi spoke up.

"Dai… Why are you doing this?" Usagi asked.

"Yeah, you're even worse than usual," Haruka said, standing straight. "You looking for an ass beating, kid?"

"The negative energy I detected in him is the cause of his behavior," Ami said. Dai grinned at her.

"Negative energy?" Usagi asked.

"Ranma's Yang," Dai said. "You separated it from him that night Ranma was possessed by his demonic heritage. I freed realized I could free myself of him then, and hitched a ride in his demonic aspect, which was reacting pretty nastily to your magic," Dai explained. "Ever since then, we've both slowly deteriorated. Leading me back to what I said earlier; I'm fusing with Ranma tonight."

"That still doesn't answer why you're here," Setsuna reminded.

"Oh that," Dai finally said. "Uh, yeah, well, we're in Fukuoka for the week." The senshi all stared at him. "I just wanted to warn you, if you plan on taking Xellis out soon, you're either going to have to do it without us or wait till we get back."

"Xellis? You've had contact with the Mazoku?" Setsuna asked.

"He and I worked together for a bit. When I separated from Ranma, he found me and gave me my human form. We both took out Niflheim, and he's been helping me retrain Astral Star for fun."

"You worked with a Mazoku?" Setsuna demanded, a look of disgust on her face.

"Hey, I was using him more or less," Dai shrugged. "I knew there was no way I could destroy him. And he did prove useful." Setsuna shook her head.

"I don't believe this. Well, now that you've explained yourself, please leave."

"Wait!" Usagi said. "Does the fact that you're deteriorating now mean that you can't be separated from Eliza?" Usagi asked. Dai chuckled.

"The fact that I even exist is proof that I can be separated from her. However, the body I'm riding in is merely a construct that contains all of Ranma's negative energy," He explained. "Thus the destabilization. Right now, Ranma is all Eliza, which has resulted in her staying in her female body for longer than normal since it feels comfortable for some reason I'm sure she can't fathom." He chuckled again. "It's probably giving her the creeps."

"One last thing," Usagi asked. "Why are you in Fukuoka? Is it the UFO?" Dai blinked.

"I'd forgotten about that. But no, that's not why. We're in Fukuoka because the media connected Ranma and company with you guys. Haven't any of you watched TV at all today?" He asked.

"Well yes, but they were just running those videos through again," Rei said. "Speaking of which, we need to talk about that too. This increased media attention could get bad for us." Before anyone else could continue, Dai decided to end his visit.

"Anyway, I've scouted out my own boys and girls, and I can tell you right now that Ranma and three of the astral senshi: Jupiter, Uranus and Saturn are in Fukuoka. One of them, Mars, Pluto has already made contact with," To which everyone looked at Pluto, "Astral Star is in Tokyo, so you guys can probably make contact with her. Neptune, Mercury and Venus, I did not find." Dai looked over at Usagi and grinned. "Oh, and I'd be particularly careful if I were you, Serenity. Ranma's convinced that you're the strongest Senshi, since you're the leader. Ciao!" He waved lazily and smiled at Chibi-Usa, who glared in response, before vanishing as suddenly as he'd arrived. The senshi were silent for a moment before Minako finally spoke up.

"They're in Fukuoka! What are we going to do now?"

"What are we going to do about Ranma being Sailor Star as well?" Rei added.

"Geez. Every time we answer one question, we get two more!" Usagi clutched her head and groaned.

--

"Miwa invited us to go over to her laboratory tomorrow. You coming?"

"I don't know right now," Nabiki said as she started walking back to the edge of the roof. "I'll probably be touring the city. It's not often we get to go other places like this." Nabiki looked away from Ranma. 'That, and Kunos and science do not mix. Ever. Even if their last names are different.'

"Eh, pops and I passed through here on the way to Nerima," Ranma said with a frown on her face. "I think we were attacked by the local crazies a couple'a times, too. Some blonde girl in a weird costume…"

"That's not too strange for you guys. See you later, Ranma-kun." Nabiki said as she jumped down the roof and onto the window sill.

"Yeah." Ranma said, turning her head to look somewhere else. "You can come out now."

Dai appeared from within Ranma's shadow.

"Are you ready for this, then?" Dai asked.

"Not really, no. I got to know the real you a little bit, and I'm more than ready to accept that guy, but the current you is also a manifestation of my current body's demonic heritage, isn't it?"

"You figured that out? Good," Dai said with a smirk as his eyes turned blue with red sclera. "It's been quite an annoying thing to endure, I assure you."

"Yeah, yeah. Come on, let's get this over with…"

"This isn't going to feel nice at all," Dai said. His body blew up and became an inky black substance that towered over the red haired girl. Ranma spat to the side and crossed her arms.

"I ain't a stranger to pain."

"Whatever," The dark shape shot at her and engulfed her body completely. Ranma bit back a pained shout.

"Kgh…ugh.." The girl fell to her knees and clutched her face. "Damn it…" The black substance was absorbed into her skin. Almost immediately, Ranma's canines started to elongate and her eyes changed to the same color that Dai's had been before. "Control… Control…" The girl clenched her fists hard enough for her now sharpened claw-like nails to draw blood. "Ugh…" Ranma fell and turned on her back, panting. After a moment, her breathing regulated, and her features became more human like.

"Man," She got out between breaths, "I really…need to find out… more about my family…"

--

Chapter 13: The end of the beginning...

--

"It's gone…" Inuyasha grunted 'There was the smell of a youkai for a moment there, but it's gone…' The silver haired hanyou looked out at the elaborate garden and frowned. "We're gonna be here a whole seven days?"

"Yes, Inuyasha…" Kagome sighed. "I know it's dumb, but I'm hoping the well will be working when we get back." She said.

"You're right, that is dumb," Inuyasha snorted. "It's gonna just fix itself?"

"Actually, yes." Both Inuyasha and Kagome turned to face their visitor.

"Higurashi-san?" Kagome asked, looking at the pilot of Kuno's private jet as he walked up to them.

"Do you believe in coincidences, Higurashi-san?" He asked, looking at Kagome with a smile. She blinked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Nevermind that," He smiled. "Heh, I knew my long wait was over the moment I saw you in the plane."

"Wait? What for?" Kagome asked. Inuyasha frowned.

'He smells familiar, but I can't quite figure it out…'

"Old friends," Higurashi said. "Listen. Like I was saying, the well will be just fine when you get back. But I'm asking a favor of you." Both Kagome and Inuyasha looked wary of him.

"Um, Higurashi-san… How do you know about the well?" Kagome asked.

"That's an unimportant detail. Anyway, that favor… I want you to take Saotome Ranma with you for one of your trips."

"What?" Kagome frowned. "What for?" She demanded.

"Another unimportant detail. Listen, take it from someone who has already lived through what you will in a week's time," He said, turning around. "If you don't, it could cause a paradox or something."

"Someone who lived through…" Kagome looked up at him in surprise. "Who are you?"

"An old friend. See you!" There was a sudden flash of blue flame, and the man disappeared.

--

Jun sighed, closing the door behind him and kicking his shoes off to the side.

'I actually managed to stay out for a few hours…' He took his sunglasses and fedora off and set them and his trench coat on the coat rack by the door.

"Jun?" Jun looked up and noticed his sister was standing at a doorway. "Y-you're back?" The girl looked a bit haggard. "Oh, you're back! I thought something had happened to you!" She ran over to him and hugged him tightly. "Where were you? I was so worried!"

"I was checking some places out," He said. "I'll have to go back out again tomorrow, too."

"T-Tomorrow too? Oh Jun… I'm so proud of you!" The girl shuddered once and it was then that Jun noticed that she was crying.

"Uh, could you let me go? I have to go talk to Shinku."

"Ah.. Of course! Go on! Tell her about your day! She's waiting in your room!" Nori pushed him away and started walking to another room. "I have to call mom and dad..! This is… this is…" Jun watched her bolt away and sighed.

'I don't like people any more than I did before.' He shook his head and started towards the stairs. When he was finally on the second floor, he walked to his room and opened the door.

"…normally I wouldn't interfere in these matters, but your sister can not afford to have an incompetent partner at this point in time," Shinku finished saying as she held a steaming cup of tea to her mouth. Jun noticed another doll kneeling in front of her as she sat on his swivel chair.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you –desu!" The doll leapt up and tackle-hugged the other doll, who miraculously managed to not spill any of her tea.

"Calm yourself, Suiseiseki. Jun, come in." Jun blinked and did just that.

"Who's this?" He demanded, looking at the new doll, who turned to look at him as well. "I don't have to kiss her hand too do I?"

"No, she already has a master. Her sister, however, is currently bound to a decrepit old man, and will not leave him out of some misplaced sense of loyalty."

"What? So I have to take her sister in then?" Jun blinked. "Wait a minute. You're all sisters aren't you? Technically?"

"Suiseiseki has a twin," Shinku said. The new doll looked at him. "Souseiseki."

"Uh-huh. I see." Jun looked down at Shinku. "Get out of my chair."

"This is my chair." The doll retorted. Jun squinted at the doll as if it were crazy, then grabbed the chair and started shaking it roughly. "Ahhh!" Shinku spilled the tea all over herself. "My dress! How dare you!"

"It's important," Jun said. "I need my chair. Sorry." He picked the doll up out of the chair and set her on the floor, then rolled his chair over to the computer, leaving a flabbergasted Shinku in his wake. "I'll wash your dress, okay? Just give me a minute," The flustered doll stared for a moment as she struggled to decide on her next action.

"J-Jun! Apologize this instant!"

"I just did," Jun said without bothering to look at her. "Didn't you hear me?" Shinku blinked at his response, then went over what he'd said before.

"I-I don't believe it! You apologized?!" Suiseiseki looked back and forth between the two, huddled behind Shinku.

"Yeah. I'm kind of busy now, okay? Apparently that wizard guy signed me up for some magical mailing list or something, sheesh. Mahou Net, huh… and here's one from Sailor Pluto already?" Jun shook his head.

"Wizard?" Shinku asked.

"I met a wizard," Jun sighed. "We agreed to team up with the Sailor Senshi to destroy the creature that did that massacre from the morning news," Jun said. Shinku blinked at that several times.

"You met a western magi?" The doll asked. "Interesting. Did he agree to apprentice you?" Jun turned around to look at her.

"No way, the guy's my age. There's no way I'd apprentice under someone that young. And besides, I don't really want to," He said, turning back around.

"Um…Desu…"

"Ah, Suiseiseki, I'm sorry," Shinku glanced at her older sister and then looked at Jun again. "Jun, do you know anyone who could serve as Souseiseki's master?"

"Huh?" Jun turned around to look at the two dolls.

"She's very brave and loyal-desu… She needs a good master who is very strong so that she can keep up with us-desu." Jun blinked and glanced at her.

"What do you mean?"

"The world tree and the tree of dreams…It's very complicated, but I feel you should be able to understand at this point," Shinku started. "It's about magic and the world as a whole." Jun ignored her and reading the text on his computer screen.

"I'm sure it is. It's all over this Mahou Net thing…" Shinku blinked and looked up at the computer. "Listen, you should probably go get Nori to wash your dress."

"Hmm. You're right. We'll talk later then," Shinku turned and

--

Ranma looked up at the ceiling from her bed. The girl was lying on her back with her bed sheets and covers messily twisted around her.

'I thought it'd feel different…' She looked over at the digital clock on her bed stand and blinked. It was past two in the morning, but Ranma was totally awake and alert, as if she'd drank a lot of tea or something. The red head sat up and looked out the window to her right; the full moon was shining a bright silver that night. She turned and hopped off of the bed, then walked over to the window and leaned on the window sill. Ranma felt her eyes drawn to the moon again, and as she looked at it, she noticed that it seemed to be shining brighter than any time she could remember.

"Huh…" Ranma squinted up at the big round shape in the sky. 'Man, a little while ago, I'd have never believed that there used to be people living on the moon… or any other planets for that matter…' She shook her head and smiled. "Then again, maybe I would have…" She sighed and leaned even lower. 'There's so much going on recently… Finding out that I'm a reincarnated prince (ugh) and princess (ick), from an alien race that died out thousands of years ago no less… that UFO, then the time traveling and all these obscenely strong guys I keep running into…

'Speaking of which, how am I going to beat them? The Senshi… they're not trained martial artists anymore, and I don't think soul memory counts for muscle memory, so that shouldn't carry over at all… But since they rely on their planetary links for magic, and since they're linked to the planet's magical cores, they each have access to far more magical power than all the mages on Earth at once. Not to mention, Usagi and Chibi are part of that group, too.'

Ranma frowned.

'Touya and his brother can stop time without the usual repercussions since each emerald has infinite energy. Even without that, Touya is extremely fast, and I can only imagine his brother being just as fast or faster… Even if they're lacking in strength and defense, it just wouldn't matter. The Eternal Sword can counter a time stop, since it too has infinite energy. And that guy… Pallas… He's the closest thing to a god I've ever seen. What was he doing in the mountain, anyway? What does he have to do with anything?' Ranma shook her head. 'I know he's important. But how?' The red haired girl pulled back some of her hair hanging over her face. 'That weird doll, that white haired guy with the huge sword… what else am I missing?'

--

Konatsu looked up at the moon from the roof of the iUcchan's/i. The bright light it gave off illuminated the empty streets and buildings below. The tea-house ninja was suited up in full ninja-garb, with an added ski mask and padded vest. Strapped to his legs were kunai and shuriken holsters, and a katana strap. The ninja's hands danced through a series of complicated seals before there were three puffs of smoke and seemingly out of nowhere, three exact copies of the male kunoichi appeared by his side. They all nodded at each other and leapt off of the restaurant in four separate directions.

Down below, inside the iUcchan's/i, Cologne, Ukyo and Shampoo were seated around one of the tables.

"Konatsu has started his rounds." Mousse announced as he walked into the room. Cologne nodded at him in thanks and he pulled a chair out to join them.

"Now all we need to do is wait for Happi to show up," the old crone said.

"Is all this really necessary?" Ukyo asked. The three amazons appeared to be taking this… whatever it was, very seriously. Whoever Konatsu had run into had sent the great grandmother of one of her competitors into red alert; so much so as to supply Konatsu with real ninja equipment and send him out to look for signs of them again. "I mean, can't we just get Ran-chan to take care of it?"

"Do you know where Ranma is?" Cologne asked, raising a brow. Ukyo winced - she really, honestly had no clue as to where Ranma or his father was, or when her fiancé had left. Add to it that her other main rival, Tendo Akane, and her family were also missing, left Ukyo feeling a little nervous.

"No, I don't." She admitted.

"Then chances are he won't be able to 'take care of this for us' at the moment. And seeing as how a Mazoku and Saffron are on two totally different levels, Ranma alone wouldn't be enough for it anyway." Ukyo turned in her chair, folding her arms.

"I don't see what you're worried about. Ran-chan hasn't really ever lost a major fight before. If it's really important, he'll win." She said defiantly.

"Stupid spatula girl should think before talk," Shampoo snorted. Ukyo glared at her purple haired rival.

"Look who's talking, sugar." Shampoo stuttered for a moment and returned her glare twofold before saying something in Chinese that caused Mousse to blush. Cologne quickly smacked the purple haired girl with her cane.

"Watch your mouth." She snapped.

"What?" Ukyo looked between the three of them. "What did she call me?"

"Forget about it." Cologne said. "Like she was saying, though, child, try to take this a bit more seriously. You don't know the capability of a Mazoku, and yet you immediately assume that it can be easily defeated by son-in-law just because of his track record. Tell me child, would a white belt martial artist be capable of defeating a black belt because they took down a yellow belt?" Ukyo blinked at the analogy.

"I don't think so…" She admitted. "Is there really that big of a difference?"

"More than you can imagine," The older woman nodded. "Mazoku are immensely powerful. If left unchecked, a single Mazoku could topple this world easily." Ukyo frowned.

"Surely they can't be that strong," She insisted, "I mean, the world's armies could hurt them, couldn't they?"

"Mazoku are not harmed by physical damage. A nuclear bomb would do naught but devastate the countryside around one." The owner of the restaurant they were in paled at that particular revelation.

"Then how do you kill them?" She demanded. "A monster that strong…"

"They can be hurt by spells, chi attacks, or reiki attacks that target them in the astral plane." Cologne sighed. Ukyo blinked at her.

"And you can do that, right? And you're gonna teach Ran-chan how to do it too?" The old woman nodded at that.

"There are a few chi techniques that I know that are capable of attacking enemies through the astral plane. They have other uses than killing Mazoku, of course, so people continue to practice them."

"Uh-huh. So, why isn't Ran-chan just going to fight this thing and just barely win once you teach him the technique, like in the past?"

"Do you not understand that the difference in power is just that much?" Cologned demanded.

"Hasn't that been said before?"

"This time is very different from what you know!" Cologne snapped. Ukyo cringed at bit at the ancient woman's tone, but didn't say anything. "The fact that I'm willing to work with Happosai alone should tell you how serious this is."

"Aww, what's that supposed to mean? Am I so unpleasant to be around?" Everyone turned to look at the hunched over old man standing at the restaurant's entrance. "How cruel of you, Ko-chan! It brings a tear to my eye to know that my presence has become so repugnant to a girl who once loved me!" Cologne gave him a half-lidded stare.

"Your presence has always been repugnant to me, you twisted little gnome. If it hadn't been for the village's laws, I wouldn't have even looked at you twice."

"Oh Cologne-chan!" Happosai managed to squeeze out more crocodile tears at her words. "Your lack of devotion to your one true love because of his age is heart wrenching! How cruel this world is to an old man!" The ancient martial arts master walked over to the table, wiping the tears from his eyes. When he next looked up, his face was radiant and there were no signs of the previous tears. "So, I hear the great amazon tribe has need of my strength once again! Something about a demon, yes?" Cologne rolled her eyes.

"It's a Mazoku, not some common evil spirit or oni," She corrected. Happosai blinked at that.

"A Mazoku you say? I see…" The old man vanished suddenly, and everyone turned to see him at the door. He had a big travel pack that was three times the size of his own body. "I'm going to spend my last days in Miami! You guys do whatever you want! Oh, and tell Ranma it was fun, would you? Ta-ta!" The old man opened the door and hopped out.

"You fool! Come back here!" Cologne hopped out of her chair and after the old man.

"Aiyah, old man run away, just like Shampoo thought." The purple haired amazon shook her head.

-

"And next time you try to run, I'll neuter you," The old woman snapped. Happosai was lying under her cane.

"Ha ha! I was only joking!"

"You'd better be, you foul little man." The old woman pogoed off and into her chair, and Happosai was there at the table again almost instantly. The three teenagers stared at them for a moment.

"So! What's the plan?" Happosai asked, getting out a pipe. He lit it with chi and put it in his mouth. "Since this is a Mazoku we're talking about, I'm sure you've called for help to your sisters already." Cologne nodded. "So, when are they getting here?"

"Two days at the latest." Cologne said. "Happi. I need you to start seriously training your heir. That playing around you do will not suffice for something so momentous."

"Oh?" Happosai frowned and crossed his arms. "Well, okay, but… Ranma and everyone are in Fukuoka for the week. I can't train him from all the way over here!"

"You can cross that distance in as much time as it takes for my sisters to get here," She snapped. "Don't try to fool me. For once, you old coot, take this _seriously_!"

"Hmph, you say that, but are you going to be stepping up your own heir's training at all?" He demanded. "Why should I put in extra work that you won't?"

"Of course I am!" she snapped. Shampoo blinked, and both of the other teens looked over at her.

"Great grandmother? What you mean? Already learned Katchu Tenshin Amaguriken and Hiryu Shoten Ha. Figured out Bakusai Tenketsu too, too fast."

"I will explain it to you later, child," Cologne said. "Suffice it to say that you'll be learning powerful Amazon techniques that even Ranma doesn't know." Shampoo blinked at that, and Cologne turned her attention on Happosai again.

"That's nice, but what are we going to do with these losers?" Happosai asked, gesturing Ukyo and Mousse.

"Hey! Who are you calling a loser!?" Ukyo demanded, standing up. Happosai merely gave her a look that said 'You must be kidding, little girl. You can't take me. I'll tear you apart so fast you won't know your ass from your mouth.' Ukyo cringed and drew back a little bit.

"Well, I like girls with spunk, but spunk will only take you so far," The old man said, leaning back. "You could probably do well to learn from that Ninja boy you have working for you. And the blind fool…. Hmm…" Happosai looked over at the quiet hidden weapons master critically. "Huh?" He leapt up to the table and walked over to Mousse, looking him over. In a blur, he snatched the boy's glasses away, revealing Mousse's closed eyes. "He fell asleep. But still, he can be useful to us. I'm sure you'll figure something out for him, he is your charge after all," He said in a gleeful tone. He slapped the side of Mousse's head, and the teen fell off of the side of his chair, but continued sleeping.

"All right then," Happosai said, looking at Cologne again. "But as soon as this is over, I expect a few favors!"

"Your life should be thanks enough," the old woman snapped.

"You know you girls can't beat me," He said, puffing himself up. Shampoo growled and glared at the perverted old master, but didn't move, while Cologne failed to react in at all. "Hmph. I'll be on my way then. See you later!" He bounded off of the table and out of the restaurant. Cologne sighed.

"Perhaps we should have asked the Mazoku to get rid of him for us, not the other way around."

--

In another plane of existence, Xellis and Aiko stood atop one of many jagged stone platforms that floated on a dark, motionless sea. The only sound in the space around them was that of dripping water. Each drop was accompanied by a lasting echo. The sea and platforms expanded in every direction.

"Aqua Labyrinth…" He smirked and opened his eyes. "Interesting. Perhaps there's more to be had here than cheap thrills."

"Xellis…" Aiko sighed. "You're probably in over your head this time."

"Aww, come on," The purple haired Mazoku whined. "Aren't you supposed to be pumping up my ego at this point? Making me feel big and strong?"

"Oh please." The ninja woman rolled her eyes. "You look too scrawny for anyone to take seriously."

"Well, that may be true, but... I'm the most powerful guy on Earth! Can't you at least acknowledge that?"

"No." Aiko sniffed. "Why are we even wasting time here anyway? Do you have an understanding of how the Eternal sword works yet?"

"It'll be easier to take it than make something similar," Xellis said. "We lack the materials for it, for one. If we were back home, it'd be easy."

"Hmph. Well, still…"

"Come on. You can't have any complaints left."

"This place is dull," Aiko whined. "Can't you think of anything better to do?"

"I thought you wanted me to stop terrorizing people?"

"Besides that!"

"Besides that?" The mazoku frowned. "Hmm…" He tilted his head and folded his arms. "Besides that…"

Aiko waited for a whole minute.

Xellis tilted his head in the other direction.

Aiko started tapping her foot impatiently and started growling, when Xellis finally held up a finger.

"We could… no, wait. Hmm…"

Aiko shook her head.

"Whatever. I give up. Let's just go already…" The purple haired mazoku smiled.

"I'm glad you see things my way! Let's go then!"

--

Ranma suddenly opened her eyes and blinked several times. The room was brighter than it had been minutes ago… much brighter. She turned to face the window and looked outside. It was just barely dawn.

"Huh. Guess I fell asleep." The girl sat up, stretching and yawning at the same time. Her mind was fuzzy, like it sometimes was right after waking up. "Man, I almost forgot we were back here in the present!" She turned and hopped off of the bed and started towards the door. "First things first, gotta get some hot water… can't believe I forgot it last night!"

Ranma walked into the hallway and stopped when she noticed Nabiki walking towards her.

"Oh, there you are. Hey, Ranma." The white haired Tendo waved at him. She was already all dressed up, wearing a white t-shirt and short-shorts.

"You know where the bathroom is? I forgot to check last night."

"Down the hall, to your right," Nabiki pointed behind the redhead.

"Eh, thanks. Hey, isn't it kind of early for you to be up?" The girl asked. She hadn't seen a clock, but she was sure it was early when she had woken up from the lighting through the window. For a second, the other girl's eyes narrowed and she had a cold look on her face, but it was gone in a second and Ranma wondered if she'd imagine it.

"I just woke up all of a sudden for no reason and couldn't go back to sleep." Nabiki said. Ranma shrugged, turned around and started running down the hall. She turned around and waved.

"Maybe we can get in a light workout before I go see Miwa's lab, then!"

"That sounds fun," The other girl agreed with an even bigger smile. "I'll be waiting for you."

Ranma stopped at the end of the hall and opened the door. Immediately upon opening the door, she was blasted with an overpowering stench.

"Pig-tailed girl! Please do not seek to meet with me like this in my cousin's house! It is uncouth!"

Ranma slammed the door shut. She backed away from the door and started turning green in the face.

"Oh yes, if I were you, I'd put a shirt on," Nabiki called from down the hall, as if suddenly remembering something. "We're not the only ones up!" The red head only continued to back away from the door, her eyes opened wide and her face a nice shade of greenish white. "Oh dear, it looks like she's going to be sick. I guess we won't be training then." The white haired girl started whistling and walked away from the scene.

--

"Are you sure you're feeling up to this?" Nabiki asked with a disappointed expression. She and a very male, very clothed Ranma were standing across from each other on the mansion's roof. "I mean, the sight of Kuno-chan like that… and the smell of his roses…"

"Shut up! I'm fine!" Ranma snapped, although his face had lost a bit of the color it had finally managed to regain. "Come on, let's go already." Nabiki frowned.

"What about all those people down below? Don't you think we'll wake them up?"

"Nah," Ranma said, suddenly leaping at her. The white haired girl frowned and dodged or parried the pig-tailed boy's sudden, quick strikes. Their limbs would have appeared to be nothing more than a discolored blur to the untrained eye. "You seem to be fully awake. Let's crank it up then, huh?"

"No, let's not. This is just fine," Nabiki said. Ranma blinked, but was only mildly surprised by the comment. The girl's defiant attitude had been persistent all through their month of training; this was nothing new.

"I wasn't asking, Nabiki-chan," The teen smiled as he upped his speed. Nabiki scowled and started struggling to block his strikes. "Come on, can't you do better than this? This is pathetic!"

"I didn't want to do this in the first place," The girl snapped. "But you dragged me out here anyway…" A light punch got through to her stomach and she jumped back, moving with the force of the blow. Ranma merely followed after her in a jump kick that she managed to deflect and counter with a punch aimed at his face. He easily weaved around the blow and tapped her forehead with his index finger in a blur. Nabiki growled and slapped his hand away from her, and he backflipped away from her.

"What the hell did you do this time?" She demanded.

"Go look in a mirror and see," Ranma teased. The white haired girl snarled and rubbed the very painful spots on her forehead.

'You bastard, I'll get you for this,' The girl noticed something off to the side behind Ranma and blinked.

"Oh! Look, it's Saotome Oji-san and daddy!" Nabiki said, pointing to the side. Ranma blinked and turned to the side, where indeed, both of their fathers were watching them. They both looked surprised, having attention called to them. Nabiki leapt at the distracted Ranma with a fist cocked back.

"Huh? What'd you guys want?" Ranma asked. The pig-tailed teen lazily redirected Nabiki's strike and blocked subsequent others without bothering to look at her. "Can't you see we're busy?"

"Don't mind us, boy, we're just here for the show," Genma said.

"Hmph. Well whatever," Ranma said, jumping up and around Nabiki's attacks. The Tendo girl became increasingly frustrated with her lack of success and started growling as an angry red battle aura began to form around her.

"Be careful with the place, Ranma," Soun said. "Remember that we're staying with guests. You can't go treating the place the way you do my house!"

"Yeah, yeah," Ranma said. He looked at Nabiki. "You heard that right?"

"Yeah, I heard him, you asshole!" She snapped. "Take a hit already!"

"Nabiki! Watch your language!" Nabiki stopped trying to fight Ranma and started growling. "It's not his fault that you can't hit him."

"I'd like to see you come and have at it," She snapped. "When was the last time you bothered training?" Everyone looked at Soun, who was frowning at his daughter. The mustached man visibly struggled to respond.

"Girl, you will treat your father with more respect." Nabiki crossed her arms and scowled at him.

"Come earn that respect then," she snapped. Ranma glanced over at Nabiki, who still had a glowing red battle aura.

"Geez, what crawled up your panties and died?" The teen asked.

"Boy! Stay out of this!" Genma commanded. He looked over at Soun, who barely managed to keep his composure. "Tendo-kun, don't just stand there!" The other man turned to look his portly friend in the eyes. 'Just like we talked about!' Soun nodded and with a look of determination, started walking towards his delinquent daughter.

"Ranma-kun, I'm going to have to ask you to step aside." Nabiki rolled her eyes and Ranma looked from father to daughter, then nodded and walked over to join Genma. "It's really too bad that we have to be considerate of the landscape." Soun took up a stance and fixed a stern stare upon his daughter. Nabiki's aura cooled down to being barely visible and she glared back. "Anytime you're ready."

The two waited like that for almost thirty seconds before Nabiki suddenly leapt at her father.

"What's this all of a sudden?" Ranma asked his own father as the two fought it out.

"Just watch, boy."

Soun's blocks and deflects were clumsy, half of them totally missing, and the man was quick to start sweating in exertion. Two very condemning pieces of evidence that he had truly not practiced the art for years. It was hard to watch the older man get pummeled by his daughter, and Ranma cringed at a few of the strikes she got in. Nabiki was seriously letting her father have it; she was channeling all of her frustration at not being able to even touch Ranma into her strikes to much effect. The two jumped around the roof, Nabiki landing blow after blow while Soun only barely managed to keep up a sparse defense. It soon became obvious who the victor would be when Nabiki started getting in more hits than were blocked.

Finally, Nabiki let loose a vicious punch that connected right between her father's eyes, knocking him clear off of his feet. Ranma looked at the downed Soun, who showed no signs of getting up soon, and the white haired teenage girl, who stood there, panting. Ranma saw the contempt and disappointment on her face for what it was.

'She's ashamed of him.' Ranma blinked as his father, stoic as could be, walked over to his downed friend and knelt over.

"Soun, my friend, can you hear me?" He asked. After a moment:

"I can." Genma held up three fingers over the man's face.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Six." Soun frowned. "Wait, you can't have six fingers on one hand…"

Genma shook his head.

"Hmph, pathetic. That's what you get for being so damn lazy," Nabiki crossed her arms. Ranma glared at the other teen.

"Don't have to add insult to injury…" The white haired teen glared at Ranma.

"You…" She shook her head. 'Hypocritical bastard!' "Shut up, Saotome, I've had enough of you," She snapped.

"What?" Ranma demanded. "If you want to fight, I'm here twenty four seven. Any time, any place," He said.

"Hmph." Nabiki turned away. "Just leave me the hell alone. We're already back in our world. I shouldn't even still be doing this."

"You don't know what could happen," Ranma insisted.

"It's okay, Ranma-kun," Soun said. "Let her be."

"But..!"

"Ranma, respect the man's wishes," Genma said. Ranma looked like he still wanted to argue but Genma shook his head.

"Nabiki-chan," Soun started.

"What?" She demanded, looking down at her beaten father. There was a nasty bruise forming over his cheekbone, and his face was all red.

"This isn't over. I want to have a rematch in a week, before we leave."

Nabiki frowned.

"No. Challenge denied," She turned away. "I'm through with this crap. Again."

"That was not a request," The man said.

"You don't have the right to order me around." Nabiki snorted. "I'm done here. Don't bother me with this ever again." With that, the white haired girl leapt off of the roof of the mansion in one great leap.

Neither of the remaining three moved for a few seconds. The first to recover was Genma, who looked over at his son and spoke.

"Ranma, leave us." The younger Saotome glanced at the two of them and nodded, following his fiance's sister off the roof.

--

Back in Nerima, Ukyo was already up and serving the early breakfast rush in her restaurant. Konatsu ran back and forth from the counter, taking ready orders to and empty plates from the bustling tables. Ucchan's Okonomiyaki really was the best, or so Konatsu liked to believe, and everyone in the neighborhood knew this. The faux kunoichi smiled at every customer he passed, which earned a few blushes from the mostly male customers, and some of the females.

'It's probably best they don't know I'm male,' He thought as he took some plates in to the back and added them to the queued up plates piling up in the bubbling sink.

When their first break came in the form of a dramatic decrease in patrons, the first lull of the morning, Konatsu set to washing the dishes piled up dishes while Ukyo herself served the patrons their meals.

In just five minutes, the kunoichi finished washing all of the plates and just as he was about to grab all five stacks, his danger sense went off. Konatsu instantly knew who his attacker was by the feel of her chi, and though he was confused as to why Ukyo would attack him, he reflexively pulled a kunai from inside his kimono and blocked all of the mini-spatulas in a blur. All eight of them were easily stopped, and they all clanged down to the ground harmlessly. He looked over at Ukyo, and noticed the disappointed look on her face.

"Dang… Not even one?"

"Ukyo-Sama? What are you doing?"

His question went ignored, as Ukyo turned and walked away, mumbling to herself. Shrugging, Konatsu picked up all of the spatulas, turned around, grabbed a rag, and started washing them.

--

Shampoo trailed behind her ancient great-grandmother up a mountain path. The purple haired girl looked around at all of the greenery covering the cliffsides and roc faces as they climbed. On the distant ground down below, there was a quiet, peaceful lake that had a small outlet from the mountain as its source. The young Chinese girl frowned and looked down at her grandmother, who lead her at a very sedate pace. The path had yet to be come treacherous; it was still over a meter wide and it didn't look like it'd end any time soon.

"Great Grandmother, how far do we have to go?" Shampoo frowned and looked down at grandmother.

"Here." Cologne said, stopping suddenly. Shampoo blinked and stopped a second later. She looked around in confusion.

"What do… you mean, Grandmother?" Shampoo said. She tilted her head and nodded; she'd said it right.

"We still have a mountain to climb, girl," The old woman snorted.

"Shampoo no understand."

"Shampoo… try harder," Cologne said. Shampoo frowned; she'd said it wrong? Wait, now that she thought about it, the wording did seem a little off.

"Shampoo don't understand." She said, girl nodding with a look of satisfaction on her face.

The old woman clocked her with her staff.

"Not what I meant, and you still got it wrong." Shampoo winced and frowned at her ancestor, rubbing the spot where she'd been hit.

"What?" Cologne sighed.

"The wording was better that time, but you should have said used either 'boku' or 'watashi', not your name. That's for small children and bubbly headed idiots."

"Is good for making people underestimate me, no?" Shampoo said, shrugging. "Why do… I have to learn so much Japanese?"

"You sound genuinely stupid," Cologne said, causing the younger girl to frown. "And I've gotten to know muko-dono very well. One thing I know about him is that he will not return to China with us. Your only chance is to stay here in Japan with him." Shampoo's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but it quickly vanished.

"I thought so…" The purple haired girl said in her home language.

"Japanese, girl."

"But great grandmother," Shampoo continued, "I… I don't like Japanese. It's so stupid! The country is totally backwards, too! They treat women with such little respect!" Cologne snapped her cane across the girl's forehead.

"Japanese! And that is going to change soon. The whole world is going to change in a matter of days. Japan, and the rest of the world for that matter, will no longer even be able to continue as it has. And you still have a mountain to climb!" she snapped.

"Aah…" Shampoo frowned, then finally started speaking the language of her husband's people. "What grandmother mean then?" Cologne sighed and shook her head, then pointed at the cliff wall beside them.

"Up there."

"But path…" Shampoo said, confused.

"That will take you further than this path will," Cologne said.

"Me? Not us?"

"Someone will be waiting for you up there," Cologne said.

"Who could train Shampoo better than great grandmother?" The purple haired girl demanded.

"Probably no one, but that person does have something to teach you," Cologne said. "Now get going! Get!" She started hitting the teen with her staff.

"Aiyaaah! Okay okay! Shampoo going!" The purple haired girl said as looked up the cliff wall. It extended very high; much higher than it had seemed to from the ground. "What..?" The cliff wall extended up into the clouds, with no immediately visible foot holds. She'd have to climb the whole way up. She looked down at her grandmother, who looked impatient as ever, then at the cliff face again.

"Girl, if you don't start in five… four…"

"Aiyah! Shampoo climbing already!"

--

The outer senshi Uranus and Neptune were sitting across from each other in an okonomiyaki restaurant in Nerima. Both of their plates were empty of food. Their waitress, a pretty girl dressed in a pink kimono with floral designs, approached them with a smile on her face.

"Are you two done for today?"

"Yes, thank you," Haruka said with a smile.

"Okay then!" The girl reached into her Kimono and took out a piece of paper. "Let's see… ah, that'll be… hmm… one hundred yen!" Both of the inner senshi blinked at the price. The waitress looked at them, a look of confusion and worry on her face. "Oh, did I add it up wrong? Is it too expensive? Perhaps I should go get Ukyo-sama, I'm no good at this…"

"No! It's er, it's not too expensive. It's just, it seems a little… _in_expensive," Haruka said awkwardly. "Maybe you _should_ go get your boss."

"Oh, if it's not too much, then there's no problem!" She gave them a winning smile.

"A-ah…" The blonde looked over at her partner, who turned to look out the window with an innocent smile. "Well, er, if you're sure…" Haruka said, standing up and reaching into her pocket. She fetched out three hundred yen coins and smiled, handing them over to the waitress. "That should cover it then, right?"

"Oh yes! Thank you!" The waitress pocketed the change and bowed. "Please come again!"

"Oh, we will, if we're in the area," Haruka smiled at her, then turned to look at her partner as she walked away. Michiru looked up at her when the blonde held her hand out. She took it and stood, then pinched the other woman's arm and started walking away.

"What was that for?" Haruka asked her green haired companion with a wince.

"Smiling at that pretty waitress like that," Michiru said, opening the door with a smile. "Let's get going. We're still looking for Astral Mercury, remember? Both Mars gave us the description of a sickly young man with dark rings under his eyes. Astral Mars gave us that neat drawing and Sailor Mars a location. Two fortune tellers can't be wrong,"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." The blonde smiled and followed her comrade and lover out of the establishment. 'I can't wait to see how the nerdy little punk reacts to us.'

--

Ranma walked into the big foyer of Kuno's cousin's mansion.

'I should probably go learn the guy's name.' He looked around again at the grandiose architecture of the place and found its awe-inspiring effect wearing thin. 'I've seen better. Lived in better, too,' he snorted. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at the wall to his righ. Most of the hallways and such had walls painted an off-white color; this one was no different. Both sides of the hall were lined with portraits of members of Kuno's extended family.

One of them had the principal of Furinkan high on it, though the man's skin was very pale and he dressed in very traditional Japanese clothing as opposed to the very Hawaiian approach he had taken ever since Ranma'd known him, and Ranma had to double check to make sure it was him.

The front door opened suddenly, and a very busty woman walked into the mansion. Ranma turned and

"Oh, hello there!" Ranma turned and saw Miwa Shiouji walk into the room. She noticed what he was looking at and smiled. "Oh yes, Kochou-chan, my eldest cousin. He's always been rather dedicated to pursuing various arts and cultures," She said. "You're Saotome-san, correct?"

"Uhh, yeah," Ranma said, bowing. "We met yesterday."

"Yes, yes, I remember," The woman said, waving a hand. She smiled at him again. "Are you ready to meet my adorable son? He and his little friends have just been so excited, waiting to meet you!"

"Er," Ranma winced. 'She's definitely related to the Kunos.' "Yeah, sure, why not?"

"Great!" The woman clasped her hands together and her smile brightened. "I'll see who else is coming and we can leave right away!" With a cheery hum, she walked through the foyer, past Ranma and into the main hall of the mansion. The pigtailed teen shrugged and turned to face the paintings again.

-

"But I want you to teach me those crazy attacks!" Ryouga groaned and covered his face with his hands.

"How many times have I told you no already? Three? Four? You can't learn all that advanced stuff without having a full understanding of the Iron Cloth technique! It's part of the family style!" Ryouga walked around his younger sister and out of his room. "Now where's Ranma…"

"But I wanna learn that other stuff!" Rie whined. Ryouga stopped just outside the door and sighed. "I'm good enough at that already!"

"You can't even keep twelve scarves on at once, how can you say you're good at it?"

"I can make them sharp!"

"What use is it if you run out of cloth?" Ryouga demanded.

"I'll just hang on to them!"

"What if you have to throw one, and you can't get it back?"

"I'll have the other ten!"

Ryouga shook his head and crossed his arms.

"You'll be surprised how fast those can get used up in a serious fight. Until you can carry a hundred at a time, I'm not going to bother teaching you anything else, let alone the Shishi Hokodan." Ryouga watched his younger sister.

"But that'll take forever!"

"I had it mastered when I was your age, you can do it too! Now stop bothering me about it!"

"Hmph! Fine! I hope you get lost or something!" The girl stomped away from him down the hall and he shook his head.

"Stubborn brat…"

"Yo, Ryouga!" The fanged martial artist turned and noticed Ranma walking towards him from the opposite side of the hall. "What was that all about?"

"She's just angry because I won't teach her the Shishi Hokodan." Ryouga sighed. "She's gotta learn the family art first." Ranma grinned at his rival.

"That silly cloth technique? Figured. How many bandanas can you carry anyway?"

"Two thousand, five hundred sixty three," Ryouga said, looking down the hall in the direction his sister was walking. She turned around the corner and vanished from sight.

"Uh, okay," Ranma blinked, honestly surprised by the number. "How the hell does that work?"

"Family secret."

"…Right," Ranma nodded. "Well, you might want to go get her. We're about to leave."

"Huh?"

"Kuno's Aunt's lab, remember?" The young man said.

"Oh! Right. I'll be right back." Ryouga ran down the hall after his sister, and Ranma turned and walked away.

-

"Huh, who else was going…" Ranma said, starting to walk up the stairs. The staircase was in a big hall in the center of the mansion, and the stairs went around the entire room in a circle.

"Ranma!" The pig-tailed teen looked up at the female voice. At the of the stairs top stood Akane, wearing a pale yellow and white striped sundress. She was smiling and waving at him. "There you are! I've been looking for you!"

"Oh? Akane?" Ranma blinked. "What's up?" He continued walking up the stairs until he was level with her.

"Oh, Ranma… I was just wondering…" She scooted close to him and fixed a nasty glare on him. "What the hell did you do to my sister?"

"Huh? I haven't seen Kasumi yet today," Ranma said.

"I mean my other sister, Nabiki. You did something to her!"

"No I didn't. I mean, I sparred with her, and she got really pissed off at your dad, but I didn't do anything to her," He said, puffing himself up. Akane blinked at him several times, the glare melting away.

"What?"

"I said, she got pissed off at your dad, not me," He crossed his arms that time. 'Although… she did seem a bit angry before he told her to mind her language…'

"No, before that."

"Sparred with her?" Ranma asked.

"Yes, that." Akane closed her eyes and took a step back, sighing. "I think I get it now."

"What? What's going on?"

"She hates martial arts, Ranma," Akane opened her eyes. "I was wondering why she'd gotten over that for the… trip, to the moon, but I guess it was because she realized her life was in danger."

"Actually, it was because we didn't give her a choice," Ranma said, holding up a finger. "Ryouga and I, err… forced her to train." Akane raised an eyebrow at that.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"Uh… eheheh…" Ranma blushed. 'We did get a bit carried away, didn't we?' Images of Ranma holding Nabiki upside down by the legs while Ryouga pelted her with pinecones, or times where they ate all the food before she could even grab any, leaving her staring, confused, at where her share of the food had been sitting, swooping in and poking her in various places while they walked, and then finally tossing her into every single bit of water they wandered past, all until she started to fight back, very violently, bled into his mind and he laughed nervously. "Nothing too serious, we just uh, refused to take her anywhere unless she was training in some way."

Akane stared at him for a moment, then shrugged.

"Well, you say you sparred with her today, right?" Akane said. Ranma nodded and she continued. "Well, seeing as we're back, she's probably starting to get it in her mind that she doesn't have to continue anymore."

"But she does! With all that's been happ-"

"Shh!" Akane looked around and covered up his mouth. "I know. I want her to continue too, but she really hates doing martial arts." Ranma blinked and she took her hands away from his mouth. "Yesterday, we were talking about what to do about our new situation. Kasumi said she wanted to learn magic, if you guys could teach us, but Nabiki said she didn't care one way or the other. When Kasumi said she wanted to start martial arts again, Nabiki said she was being stupid and should just do something that takes less effort."

"Huh…" Ranma frowned. "Why does she hate martial arts so much?"

"I think it's because of Mom," Akane said, casting her gaze towards the ground. Ranma winced.

"Huh… I see…"

"We've got to figure out what to do with her." Akane said.

'You have no idea,' Ranma thought, remembering the way the middle Tendo had treated her own father that morning. "We'll talk more later. I was just coming to get you and Kasumi because we're going to Kuno's aunt's place," He said.

"What about Nabiki?"

"She said she wanted to go sightseeing alone," He shrugged and Akane sighed.

"She's growing so distant from us…"

"Well, I was never all that close to her in the first place," Ranma said with a frown.

"I meant me and Kasumi, idiot," Akane replied with a roll of her eyes.

"I knew that! And you didn't have to call me an idiot… thunder thighs!" Akane reeled back as if she'd been slapped and Ranma turned around and waved a hand behind him. "You go tell Kasumi that we're leaving. I'm gonna go see if Ryouga managed to find his sister." Just as he started walking, down the stairs, the youngest Tendo suddenly reached out and pushed him forward. "Hey! What the- Ow! Ouch! Augh! Ahh!"

-

"Stupid tomboy Akane…" Ranma grumbled and dusted himself off. 'I'll get her back for that…'

"Hey! Ranma!" The pig-tailed teenager blinked and turned, recognizing Ryouga's voice immediately. The lost boy ran up to him and "You haven't found her either?"

"You mean Rie?" Ranma asked.

"Yeah!" The fanged boy looked panicked. "I think she's gotten lost!" Ranma blinked and cocked his head, as if suddenly remembering something.

"Oh yeah. Your family tends to do that."

"Grr… Shut up, Ranma."

"Hey, hey, just sayin'." Ranma sighed. "I guess we'll see her again in a week or two."

"No! You don't get it!" The fanged martial artist's eyes began to water and he clenched his fists. "It's hard for us find other people, like you said… but the chances of us running into each other again are almost zero!" Ranma blinked and then scratched his head as if realizing something.

"That's right. You didn't even know you had a sister, did you?" The lost boy had a look of anguish on his face. "Wow. How old is she again? Ten? Eleven? That's a looooong time." Ryouga burst into tears right beside his rival, but Ranma didn't stop there. "Man, that's gotta suck. Not knowing where your little sister is, wondering if she's even safe, or hell, maybe you have other siblings too, who you still haven't met!" Ryouga glared at his sometimes friend through his tears.

"Ranma! Shut up!"

Ranma rolled his eyes.

"Dude, calm down." The moment those words left his mouth, Ryouga looked like he wanted to strangle the other teen. "You've survived pretty much on your own for what, seventeen years now? And she couldn't have been too much better, either. She's already lasted this long, a few days… weeks… months… okay, maybe years… by herself… won't kill her, man." Ryouga looked down at the ground.

"Sniff… I guess you're right…"

"Oh, there you are." Both Ranma and Ryouga froze and turned to face the source of the voice. Rie and Nabiki were both standing there; Rie with a frown on her face, and Nabiki looking bored as ever. "I heard from Miwa-onee-san that we were leaving, so I had Nabiki-onee-san take me to my room to get ready, and we've been looking all over the place for you since! You had me thinking you'd finally gotten lost again or something!"

Ryouga just stared at her. Ranma coughed and patted his friend on the back.

"See! I told you it'd work out!"

"Whatever the case, I'm done playing chaperone," Nabiki said, looking at her nails. "Don't expect me back until nightfall." The teenager walked out of the room, but stopped at the door. She turned to look at Ryouga and opened her mouth, as if to say something, but closed it. After a moment, she opened it again. "Don't expect me to do anything like this again. Next time, I'll let her find her own way wherever she's going." The three of them watched her leave the main hall and then looked at each other.

"She seems a little upset," Ryouga said, looking at his rival. "You wouldn't happen to know anything..?"

"Got no clue," Ranma said, shrugging.

--

Across town, one particular scientist yawned, lifted his glasses and rubbed his eyes. They stung quite a bit, like they sometimes did when he went long periods without sleep. He replaced his glasses so that he could see the readout on the screen before him and almost sighed. Gojyou looked over his shoulder at a red-haired girl who was wearing an indecent sailor uniform – like the ones those high school girls wore, only worse. It even had cute feathery wings on the back, and a golden skirt with two separate maroon and navy extensions sown on. After staring for a moment, he remembered what he'd meant to do.

"Umi-kun. Some tea, please."

"Um… right, professor!" The co-splaying servant, for lack of a better term, ran from the room.

"Umi! How many times have I told you not to run in the lab!"

"Sorry professor!" The young woman called back… as she kept running, from the sound of her footsteps.

"Ugh… She's only an intern… only an intern…"

"Isn't she your cousin too?" Gojyou jumped over when Ryoko poked her face through the monitor of his computer.

"Damn it! Haven't I told you not to do that?!" He snapped, only to get an innocent grin in response. "And yes, she is a cousin… from mother's side, of course."

"Yeah, I figured," The cyan haired alien said as she flew through the screen and hovered over his shoulder. "What'cha workin on?" The professor sighed and looked up at his screen.

"I'm still trying to locate Ropponmatsu," He said. Ryoko blinked and looked at him.

"Isn't your Nishiki defragging in the other room?" She asked.

"The other Ropponmatsu," He clarified. "The one my father made."

"Oh, right. The superior one." She smirked at him.

"Tch…" Gojyou gave her a sideways glance in annoyance. "What do you want?"

"Your mom called," She said, casually. "She's on her way with those kids. Oh yeah, Iwata fell off a skyscraper."

Gojyou stared at her.

"Fell off a skyscraper."

"Yep." After a moment, the man gave a long suffering sigh and took his glasses off to rub his eyes again.

"Go gather him up and put him in his room," He said.

"Already did."

"Hm. Did you try anything on your own?"

"I uh… I tried to reassemble the part that contains his brain." Gojyou stared at her for a moment again.

"You mean his head?"

"Yeah. Anyway, I managed to save his brain."

"Where is it now?"

"In one of those storage capsules that Thomas guy gave you," She said.

"That's good enough, I guess." Gojyou yawned again and leaned over in his chair, looking at the door. "Umi! That tea!"

"Oh, sorry professor! I forgot!" The slightly feminine looking scientist sighed and mussed his hair. Just then, a blonde woman wearing a lab coat walked into the room. "Oh. Teriha. What is it?"

"Um, your mother called to ask if you cleaned your room." The woman said, holding up a cordless phone. The light on it showed that it was on and Miwa was probably waiting on the other side.

"Give me that." He held out his right hand and the blonde woman walked over and handed him the phone, then stood there and waited. As soon as Gojyou had it, he pushed the button to hang it up, and gave it back to the blonde woman. "Don't answer it if she calls again." The woman nodded and exited the room.

"Well. She's rather polite for an amnesiac escaped convict that your cousin found in the rain, isn't she?" Ryoko asked.

"She has her uses," Gojyou agreed. He turned to face the door again and yelled out. "Umi! Tea! Now!"

--

"That's odd. The phone went dead." Miwa said. She, Ranma, Ryouga, Rie, Akane, Kasumi, Kodachi, Tatewaki, Kagome, Inuyasha and Shinshige were all standing in front of the latter's mansion beside two limousines. Ranma and Rie were both ogling the expensive looking white cars, while most of the others simply waited and listened. "Oh well. We'll just have to show up whether or not my adorable son is ready."

"From what I remember of my eldest cousin, he is the type to keep a clean house," Kuno said. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

'Ugh… I just hope he leaves that little girl alone.' Shinshige thought, glancing at Rie. 'Ironic that a normal guy like me, born into this family, ends up being the weird one…'

"I haven't seen him in almost six years already." Kagome said, looking up at her aunt. "Mom said he's got a well paying job, but what exactly does he do?"

"Oh, he works for the city, doing research projects and what not," the woman said, waving it off.

"Hey, is it really all right to go like this?" Ranma asked, looking over at Miwa. "Ain't it a bit expensive to rent limos?" The busty woman burst out laughing at his question as if he had said one of the funniest things she'd ever heard.

"Silly boy! I own these!" Ranma blinked and then looked down at the limo he was hovering over and whistled.

"I guess it's not as much as I thought then," He said with a shrug. Akane winced at the way he'd worded it, but Miwa merely walked over and gave the boy a pat on the shoulder.

"Exactly! Now let's go! An adventure in science awaits us!"

--

Not too far away, Nabiki looked up into the mostly sunny sky with a brand new pair of sunglasses.

"I hope it rains."

--

END OF PART ONE


End file.
